Government structures and neigbhorhood leads in a geo-spatial environment

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus and system of determining neighborhood leads and forming government structures in an online geo-spatial social community are disclosed. A method of organizing a community network includes obtaining a region on a geo-spatial map, obtaining a first subset of members of the community network associated with the region, determining a second subset of the members with a highest number of points from the first subset, creating a representative body (e.g., based on an activity level of each of the first subset) from the second subset, and enabling the representative body to manage a portion of the community network associated with the region. A lead member user may be appointed or designated from the representative body from the second subset of the plurality of members with the highest number of points from the first subset based on an acceptance of the lead member (having additional access privileges).

CLAIMS OF PRIORITY

This patent application is a continuation and continuation in part,claims priority from, and hereby incorporates by reference and claimspriority from the entirety of the disclosures of the following cases andeach of the cases on which they depend and further claim priority orincorporate by reference:

(1) U.S. Provisional patent application No. 60/783,226, titled ‘TRADEIDENTITY LICENSING IN A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ENVIRONMENT WITH CONFLICT’filed on Mar. 17, 2006.(2) U.S. Provisional patent application No. 60/817,470, titled‘SEGMENTED SERVICES HAVING A GLOBAL STRUCTURE OF NETWORKED INDEPENDENTENTITIES’, filed Jun. 28, 2006.(3) U.S. Provisional patent application No. 60/853,499, titled ‘METHODAND APPARATUS OF NEIGHBORHOOD EXPRESSION AND USER CONTRIBUTION SYSTEM’filed on Oct. 19, 2006.(4) U.S. Provisional patent application No. 60/854,230, titled ‘METHODAND APPARATUS OF NEIGHBORHOOD EXPRESSION AND USER CONTRIBUTION SYSTEM’filed on Oct. 25, 2006.(5) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/603,442 titled ‘MAPBASED NEIGHBORHOOD SEARCH AND COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION’ filed on Nov. 22,2006.(6) U.S. Provisional patent application No. 61/526,693, titled‘GEOSPATIAL CONSTRAINT AROUND BIDDABILITY OF A GASTRONOMICAL ITEM’ filedon Aug. 24, 2011.(7) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/236,964, titled‘NEAR-FIELD COMMUNICATION ENABLED WEARABLE APPAREL GARMENT AND METHOD TOCAPTURE GEOSPATIALLY AND SOCIALLY RELEVANT DATA OF A WEARER OF THEWEARABLE APPAREL GARMENT AND/OR A USER OF A READER DEVICE ASSOCIATEDTHEREWITH’ filed on Sep. 20, 2011.(8) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/242,303, titled‘GEOSPATIALLY CONSTRAINED GASTRONOMIC BIDDING’ filed on Sep. 23, 2011.(9) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/272,245, titled‘NEAR-FIELD COMMUNICATION ENABLED WEARABLE APPAREL GARMENT AND METHOD TOCAPTURE GEOSPATIALLY AND SOCIALLY RELEVANT DATA OF A WEARER OF THEWEARABLE APPAREL GARMENT AND/OR A USER OF A READER DEVICE ASSOCIATEDTHEREWITH’ filed on Oct. 13, 2011.(10) U.S. Provisional patent application No. 61/894,443, titled ‘RADIOBROADCAST, COMMERCE PUSHPINS, AND AUTOMATED PAGE UPDATES TO AGEOSPATIALLY CONSTRAINED NEIGHBORHOOD REGION THROUGH AN INTERNET NETWORKAND SEPARATELY A TRACKABLE SOCIAL COMMUNITY FORMED BASED ON TRACKABLETAG BASED APPAREL THAT CREATES INCENTIVES AND CONNECTIONS BETWEEN USERSWEARING PROMOTIONAL APPAREL AND THOSE OTHER USERS READING THE TRACKABLETAG ON THE APPAREL’ filed on Oct. 23, 2013.(11) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/079,611, titled ‘JOBBROADCAST DATA PUBLICATION THROUGH A WORK-OPPORTUNITY LISTING SERVERUSING A RADIAL ALGORITHM TO AUTOMATICALLY DISTRIBUTE THE JOB BROADCASTDATA IN A THRESHOLD RADIAL DISTANCE FROM A SET OF GEOSPATIAL COORDINATESASSOCIATED WITH A MOBILE DEVICE’ filed on Nov. 13, 2013.(12) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/089,779, titled‘EMERGENCY INCLUDING CRIME BROADCAST IN A NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIAL NETWORK’filed on Nov. 26, 2013.(13) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/100,034, titled ‘SOCIALCONNECTIONS THROUGH TAGGABLE APPAREL’ filed on Dec. 9, 2013.(14) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/102,474, titled‘SHORT-TERM RESIDENTIAL SPACES IN A GEO-SPATIAL MAPPING ENVIRONMENT’filed on Dec. 10, 2013.(15) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/141,432, titled‘HOLIDAY EXPRESSION AND MAPPING IN A GEOSPATIALLY CONSTRAINED SOCIALNETWORK’ filed on Dec. 27, 2013.(16) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/142,764, titled‘DRIVERLESS VEHICLE COMMERCE NETWORK AND COMMUNITY’ filed on Dec. 28,2013.(17) U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 14/144,612, titled ‘MAPBASED NEIGBHORHOOD SEARCH AND COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION’ filed on Dec. 31,2013.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

This disclosure relates generally to the technical fields ofcommunications and, in one example embodiment, to a method, apparatus,and system of determining neighborhood leads and forming governmentstructures in an online geo-spatial social community are disclosed.

BACKGROUND

A community network may correspond to a social structure made of nodeswhich may include individuals and/or organizations, and links betweenthe nodes. The links may correspond to varying degrees of socialfamiliarity, from those of casual acquaintances to close familial bonds.Community networks may be tracked and/or maintained on web-basedapplications, enabling friends, business partners, and/or otherindividuals to connect with one another using a variety of tools.Additionally, formation of the community networks on the web-basedapplications may allow parties to connect with one another regardless ofgeographic proximity.

In online community networks, users may create profiles that includeinformation such as a name, address, contact information, picture,and/or other personal information. For example, a friend-based communitynetwork may allow the users to upload photos to their profiles, while abusiness community network may allow the users to include workexperience, education, and/or references on their profiles. Onlinecommunity networks may further allow the profiles to be edited by otherusers. For example, the users may be allowed to leave comments,testimonials, and/or recommendations on other users' profiles and/orassociate other users with uploaded pictures, videos, and/or othermedia.

Connections or links, may be made between users in an online communitynetwork. For example, two users on the friend-based community networkmay become “friends” if both the users approve the connection.Similarly, a business connection may be made on the business communitynetwork if two users have worked together and/or are interested incollaborating on a future work. Connections, or links, between the usersform the basis of the online community networks and community networktheory in general.

As with other communities, the community networks may includeindividuals with great influence in a particular area, neighborhood,and/or demographic. These individuals may include leaders, contributors,and/or other well-connected people. In addition, individuals with greatinfluence in a particular neighborhood may facilitate transmission ofmessages between users of the community network as well as set trends,create groups and/or events, and/or otherwise shape the behavior of theother users of the community network. However, there may beinefficiencies in recognizing and/or granting privileges to theinfluencers by the community which may cause considerable setback to theonline communities. As a result, the online communities may suffer dueto a lack of recognition and/or granting of privileges to individuals ofinfluence.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

A method, apparatus and system of determining neighborhood leads andforming government structures in an online geo-spatial social communityare disclosed. In one embodiment, a method of organizing a communitynetwork includes obtaining a region on a geo-spatial map, obtaining afirst subset of members of the community network associated with theregion, determining a second subset of the members with a highest numberof points from the first subset, creating a representative body (e.g.,based on an activity level of each of the first subset) from the secondsubset, and enabling the representative body to manage a portion of thecommunity network associated with the region. A lead member user may beappointed or designated from the representative body from the secondsubset of the plurality of members with the highest number of pointsfrom the first subset based on an acceptance of the lead member (havingadditional access privileges).

The method may further include obtaining a number of votes from thefirst subset corresponding to an elected official (e.g., may be aneighborhood lead member in an online social network, a mayor in anonline geospatial social community, a governor, a president, asecretary-general, etc.) of the region, determining one of the secondsubset with a highest number of votes, and selecting the one of thesecond subset as the elected official. In addition, the first subset mayinclude a plurality of elected officials from a plurality of divisionswithin the region. The representative body may be created on a periodicbasis.

In another aspect, a system includes a member repository including aplurality of members, and a geo-spatial repository including a pluralityof regions (e.g., a city, a county, a state, a country, a group ofcountries, a continent, a planet, etc.) on a geo-spatial map. Thecommunity system further includes a government management module (e.g.,a lead management server) configured to obtain a first subset of themembers associated with one of the regions, determine a second subset ofthe members with a highest number of points from the first subset,create a representative body from the second subset, and enable therepresentative body to manage a portion of the community networkassociated with the one of the regions. The system appoints a leadmember user from the representative body from the second subset of theplurality of members with the highest number of points from the firstsubset based on an acceptance of the lead member, and providesadditional access privileges to the lead member user in the onlinecommunity network of the geo-spatial environment.

The government management module may also be configured to obtain aplurality of votes from the first subset corresponding to an electedofficial (e.g., may be a neighborhood lead member in an online socialnetwork, a mayor, a governor, a president, a secretary-general, etc.) ofone of the regions, determine one of the second subset with a highestnumber of the votes, and select the one of the second subset as theelected official.

In addition, the community network may include a member managementmodule configured to obtain member data (e.g., may include one of aplurality of locations on the geo-spatial map) associated with each ofthe members. The member management module may further be configured todetermine an activity level of each of the members in the memberrepository (e.g., based on which the representative body is created).

The community network may also include a representative interfaceaccessible by the representative body including a neighborhoodmanagement module configured to provide a neighborhood management optionto the representative body, a neighborhood cleanup module configured toprovide a member profile regulation option to the representative body, arepresentative communication module configured to send and/or receivemessages between each of the second subset of the members, and a forumconfigured to display a comment from the first subset. The first subsetmay include a plurality of elected officials from a plurality ofdivisions within one of the regions.

In yet another aspect, a method of voting on a community networkincludes obtaining a region request from a user of the communitynetwork, displaying a region (e.g., a city, a county, a state, acountry, a group of countries, a continent, a planet, etc.)corresponding to the region request on a geo-spatial map, and displayinga representative body including a plurality of members of the communitynetwork corresponding to the region.

The method further includes obtaining a vote (e.g., on a periodic basis)for an elected official (e.g., may be a neighborhood lead member in anonline social network, a mayor, a governor, a president, asecretary-general, etc.) of the region from the user, determining aresidence of the user in the region, determining a validity of the vote(e.g., based on an eligibility of the user and/or an eligibility of oneof the members), applying the vote to the one of the members of therepresentative body based on the residence and/or the validity, anddetermining the elected official based on the vote. The vote may beplaced multiple times by the user. In addition, the representative bodymay include a plurality of elected officials from a plurality ofdivisions within the region.

The methods, systems, and apparatuses disclosed herein may beimplemented in any means for achieving various aspects, and may beexecuted in a form of a machine-readable medium embodying a set ofinstructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine toperform any of the operations disclosed herein. Other features will beapparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detaileddescription that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitationin the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like referencesindicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a system view of a community network communicating withmembers of a community, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a user interface view of electing a next mayor in a regionassociated with the community network, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a user interface view of electing a next governor in a regionassociated with the community network, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a user interface view of electing a next president in a regionassociated with the community network, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a user interface view of electing a next secretary-general ina region associated with the community network, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block representation of a representative interface,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of organizing the community network, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of electing an official by voting on thecommunity network, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic system view of a data processing system inwhich any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be performed,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a process flow of the government management module of FIG. 1,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a user interface view of an occupant's profile associatedwith the shared structure in the geo-spatial environment, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 12A is a process flow of automatically creating the group pointerthat replaces colliding markers in the geo-spatial environment,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12B is a continuation of the process flow of FIG. 12A, showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12C is a continuation of the process flow of FIG. 12B, showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 12D is a continuation of the process flow of FIG. 12C, showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a process flow of placing a pointer representing a set ofmarkers on a map, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a user interface view of a group view associated withparticular geographical location, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a user interface view of claim view, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 16 is a user interface view of a building builder, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 17 is a systematic view of communication of claimable data,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a systematic view of a network view, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a database, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary graphical user interface view for datacollection, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary graphical user interface view of imagecollection, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary graphical user interface view of an invitation,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of inviting the invitee(s) by the registereduser, notifying the registered user upon the acceptance of theinvitation by the invitee(s) and, processing and storing the input dataassociated with the user in the database, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of adding the neighbor to the queue, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of communicating brief profiles of the registeredusers, processing a hyperlink selection from the verified registereduser and calculating and ensuring the Nmax degree of separation of theregistered users away from verified registered users, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 26 is an N degree separation view, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 27 is a user interface view showing a map, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 28A is a process flow chart of searching a map based community andneighborhood contribution, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 28B is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28A showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 28C is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28B showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 28D is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28C showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 28E is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28D showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 29 is a system view of a global neighborhood environmentcommunicating with the neighborhood(s) through a network, anadvertiser(s), a global map data and an occupant data according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 30 is an exploded view of a social community module of FIG. 29,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 31 is an exploded view of a search module of FIG. 29, according toone embodiment.

FIG. 32 is an exploded view of a claimable module of FIG. 29, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 33 is an exploded view of a commerce module of FIG. 29, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 34 is an exploded view of a map module of FIG. 29, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 35 is a table view of user address details, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 36 is a social community view of a social community module,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 37 is a profile view of a profile module, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 38 is a contribute view of a neighborhood network module, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 39 is a diagrammatic system view of a data processing system inwhich any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be performed,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 40A is a user interface view of mapping user profile of thegeographical location, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 40B is a user interface view of mapping of the claimable profile,according to one embodiment.

FIG. 41A is a user interface view of mapping of a claimable profile ofthe commercial user, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 41B is a user interface view of mapping of customizable businessprofile of the commercial user, according to one embodiment.

Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A method, apparatus and system of determining neighborhood and/orregional leads and forming government structures in an onlinegeo-spatial social community are disclosed. In the followingdescription, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific detailsare set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of thevarious embodiments. It will be evident, however to one skilled in theart that the various embodiments may be practiced without these specificdetails.

In one embodiment, a method of organizing a community network (e.g., thecommunity network 100 of FIG. 1) includes obtaining (e.g., through thegeo-spatial repository 110 of FIG. 1) a region on a geo-spatial map(e.g., the geo-spatial map 200 of FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5), obtaining (e.g.,through the member repository 112 of FIG. 1) a first subset of members(e.g., the members 104A-N of FIG. 1) of the community network 100associated with the region, determining a second subset of the members104A-N with a highest number of points from the first subset 104A-N,creating (e.g., using the government management module 108 of FIG. 1) arepresentative body (e.g., based on an activity level of each of thefirst subset 104A-N) from the second subset 104A-N, and enabling therepresentative body to manage (e.g., through the representativeinterface 600 of FIG. 6) a portion of the community network 100associated with the region.

In another embodiment, a community network 100 includes a memberrepository 112 containing members 104A-N, and a geo-spatial repository110 containing a number of regions on a geo-spatial map 200. Thecommunity network 100 also includes a government management module(e.g., the government management module 108 of FIG. 1) configured toobtain a first subset of the members 104A-N (e.g., from the memberrepository 112 of FIG. 1) associated with one of the regions, determinea second subset of the members 104A-N with a highest number of pointsfrom the first subset 104A-N, create a representative body from thesecond subset 104A-N, and enable the representative body to manage(e.g., through the representative interface 600 of FIG. 6) a portion ofthe community network 100 associated with the one of the regions.

In yet another embodiment, a method of voting on a community network 100includes obtaining a region request from a user (e.g., one of themembers 104A-N of FIG. 1) of the community network 100, displaying aregion (e.g., a city, a county, a state, a country, a group ofcountries, a continent, a planet, etc.) corresponding to the regionrequest on a geo-spatial map 200, and displaying a representative bodyincluding the members 104A-N of the community network 100 correspondingto the region.

The method further includes obtaining (e.g., using the governmentmanagement module 108 of FIG. 1) a vote (e.g., on a periodic basis) foran elected official (e.g., may be a neighborhood lead member in anonline social network, a mayor, a governor, a president, asecretary-general, etc.) of the region from the user, determining (e.g.,using the member management module 106 of FIG. 1) a residence of theuser in the region, determining a validity of the vote, applying thevote to the one of the members 104A-N of the representative body basedon the residence and/or the validity, and determining (e.g., using thegovernment management module 108 of FIG. 1) the elected official basedon the vote.

FIG. 1 is a system view of a community network 100 communicating withmembers 104A-N of a community 102, according to one embodiment.Particularly, FIG. 1 illustrates the community network 100, thecommunity 102, the members 104A-N, a member management module 106, agovernment management module 108, a geo-spatial repository 110 and amember repository 112, according to one embodiment.

The community network 100 may be a network formed by association of themembers 104A-N having member profiles in the community 102. Thecommunity network 100 may enable managing of the community network 100associated with a particular region in a geo-spatial environment. Forexample, the particular region may be a geographical area enclosed by apolygon (e.g., a circle, a rectangle, a hexagon, an irregular closedarea, etc.) and/or may include a city, a county, a state, a group ofcountries, a continent, a planet, etc.

The community network 100 may also enable selection (e.g., through thegovernment management module 108 of FIG. 1) of elected officials of arepresentative body associated with the particular region in thegeo-spatial environment. For example, the elected official may beselected based on a highest number of votes obtained from the members104A-N of the community 102. The elected official may be any one of amayor, a president, a governor, and a secretary-general. For example,the particular region may be a collection of units (e.g., “New Englandstates”) or as one part of a larger whole (e.g., “New England region ofUnited States”).

In addition, the particular region may tend to be based on politicalunits such as sovereign states, sub national units such as provinces,counties, townships, territories, etc. and multinational groupings,including formally defined units such as European Union, Association ofSouth-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and North Atlantic Treaty Organization(NATO), as well as informally defined regions such as Third World,Western Europe, Far East and Middle East.

Alternatively, the particular region may also tend to be based onelectoral districts such as Washington's 6th congressional district andTennessee's 1st congressional district, school districts such as GraniteSchool District and Los Angeles Unified School District, economicdistricts such as Reedy Creek Improvement District, metropolitan areassuch as Seattle metropolitan area, and metropolitan districts such asMetropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, LasVegas-Clark County Library District, Metropolitan Police Service ofGreater London, as well as other local districts like York RuralSanitary District, Delaware River Port Authority, Nassau County Soil andWater Conservation District, and C-TRAN.

The community 102 may be a geographically localized community of themembers 104A-N of the community network 100 located within a localneighborhood, a suburb, a village, a city, a county, a state, a nation,a group of nations, a planet, etc. The members 104A-N may be individualsassociated with a specific geographic location in the community 102. Forexample, the members 104A-N may reside in multiple regions (e.g.,multiple cities, states, countries, etc.). The members 104A-N may beconnected through the community network 100. For example, theindividuals may include leaders, social workers, contributors, athletes,people who participate in physical activities, coaches, officials,volunteers, administrators, entrepreneurs and program and/or serviceproviders and/or other well-connected people associated with thecommunity network 100.

The member management module 106 may obtain member data (e.g., locationdata, address data, etc.) from the geo-spatial repository 110 and/or maydetermine an activity level of each of the members 104A-N in the memberrepository 112. The member data may include a number of locationsassociated with the members 104A-N of the community 102. For example,the activity level may refer to participation of the members 104A-N inthe community network 100. The members 104A-N may be involved inbuilding the community network 100, deleting profiles, reporting abuseinformation and/or comments, etc. Also, the members 104A-N may beunusually connected to other users in the region. In addition, theactivity level may be estimated based on a list of activities (e.g.,physical, social, etc.) the members 104A-N perform periodically (e.g.,daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).

The government management module 108 may be a lead management server.For example, the government management module may permit an onlineneighborhood community to manage a set of lead users who control accessprivileges to members of a neighborhood in an online geo-spatialcommunity. The government management module 108 may create arepresentative body of the members 104A-N based on the activity level ofeach of the members 104A-N. In addition, the government managementmodule 108 may select an elected official from the representative bodyassociated with a particular region through determining one of themembers 104A-N (e.g., the members 104A-N having a highest number ofpoints) with a highest number of votes. For example, the highest numberof votes for the selection of the elected official may be obtained fromthe members 104A-N of the community network 100.

In addition, the government management module 108 may enable managing(e.g., through the representative interface 600 of FIG. 6) of thecommunity network 100. The geo-spatial repository 110 may be a databasethat contains map data (e.g., may include location data) to generatevarious regions on a geo-spatial map 200. For example, the map data mayinclude a number of geographical locations associated with the members104A-N of the community 102. The various regions associated with therepresentative body may be generated based on a region request from auser (e.g., may be a member 104) of the community network 100. Forexample, the region request may include searching a region on thegeo-spatial map 200 based on name, latitude/longitude, clicking on amap, etc. The member repository 112 may be a central location where dataassociated the members 104A-N of the community 102 is stored. Forexample, the data may include name, age, gender, occupation, activities,hobbies, etc. associated with the members 104A-N of the community 102.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the community network100 consists of the member management module 106, the governmentmanagement module 108, the geo-spatial repository 110 and the memberrepository 112 communicating with each other. In addition, the communitynetwork 100 enables communication between members 104A-N of therepresentative body and other members 104A-N of the community 102.

For example, a region (e.g., a city, a county, a state, a country, agroup of countries, a continent, a planet, etc.) may be obtained (e.g.,using the geo-spatial repository 110 of FIG. 1) on the geo-spatial map200. A first subset of the members 104A-N of the community network 100associated with the region may be obtained (e.g., using the memberrepository 112 of FIG. 1). A second subset of the members 104A-N with ahighest number of points may be determined (e.g., in operation 706 ofFIG. 7) from the first subset 104A-N.

A representative body may be created (e.g., based on an activity levelof each of the first subset 104A-N and/or on a periodic basis) from thesecond subset 104A-N. The representative body may be enabled to manage(e.g., through the representative interface 600 of FIG. 6) a portion ofthe community network 100 associated with the region. A number of votesmay be obtained (e.g., on a periodic basis) from the first subset 104A-Ncorresponding to an elected official (e.g., may be a neighborhood leadmember in an online social network, a mayor, a governor, a president, asecretary-general, etc.) of the region. One of the second subset 104A-Nwith a highest number of the votes may be determined (e.g., using thegovernment management module 108 of FIG. 1). The one of the secondsubset 104A-N may be selected (e.g., upon applying the valid vote fromthe first subset 104A-N) as the elected official. The first subset ofthe members 104A-N may include elected officials from divisions withinthe region.

For example, the member repository 112 may include the members 104A-N,and the geo-spatial repository 110 may include a number of regions(e.g., may include a city, a county, a state, a country, a group ofcountries, a continent, a planet, etc.). The government managementmodule 108 may be configured to obtain the first subset 104A-Nassociated with one of the regions and determine the second subset ofthe members 104A-N with a highest number of points from the first subset104A-N.

The government management module 108 may be configured to create (e.g.,based on the activity level of each of the first subset 104A-N) therepresentative body (e.g., may include elected officials from divisionswithin the regions) from the second subset 104A-N and enable therepresentative body to manage (e.g., through the representativeinterface 600 of FIG. 6) a portion of the community network 100associated with one of the regions.

In addition, the government management module 108 may be configured toobtain a number of votes (e.g., on a periodic basis) from the firstsubset 104A-N corresponding to the elected official (e.g., a mayor, agovernor, a president, a secretary-general, etc.) of one of the regions,determine one of the second subset 104A-N with a highest number of thevotes and select (e.g., using the government management module 108 ofFIG. 1) the one of the second subset 104A-N as the elected official.

The member management module 106 may be configured to obtain member data(e.g., may include one of locations on the geo-spatial map 200)associated with each of the members 104A-N. The member management module106 may be further configured to determine an activity level (e.g., theactivity level may refer to participation of the members 104A-N in thecommunity network 100) of each of the members 104A-N in the memberrepository 112.

For example, a region request may be obtained (e.g., through operation802 illustrated in FIG. 8) from a user (e.g., one among the members104A-N) of the community network 100. A region (e.g., may include acity, a county, a state, a country, a group of countries, a continent, aplanet, etc.) may be displayed corresponding to the region request onthe geo-spatial map 200. The representative body (e.g., containingelected officials from divisions within the region) including a numberof members 104A-N of the community network 100 may be displayedcorresponding to the region.

A vote for an elected official (e.g., a mayor, a governor, a president,a secretary-general, etc.) of the region may be obtained (e.g., throughthe government management module 108 of FIG. 1) from the user. Aresidence (e.g., a geographic location associated with the residence ofthe user) of the user in the region may be determined (e.g., inoperation 810 of FIG. 8) using the member management module 106 of FIG.1). A validity of the vote (e.g., may be based an eligibility of theuser and/or an eligibility of one of the members 104A-N) may bedetermined (e.g., in operation 812 of FIG. 8).

The vote may be applied (e.g., in operation 814 of FIG. 8) to one of themembers 104A-N of the representative body (e.g., based on the residenceand/or the validity). The elected official may be determined based onthe vote. For example, the vote (e.g., obtained on a periodic basis) maybe placed multiple times by the user.

FIG. 2 is a user interface view 250 of electing a next mayor in a regionassociated with the community network 100, according to one embodiment.Particularly, FIG. 2 illustrates a geo-spatial map 200, a block 202 anda vote for the next mayor option 204, according to one embodiment.

The geo-spatial map 200 may display a region (e.g., an area enclosed bya polygon) associated with a portion of the community network 100. Thegeo-spatial map 200 may also display a representative body (e.g.,containing the members 104A-N with a highest number of points) withinthe region associated with the community network 100. For example, thegeo-spatial map 200 may display the region based on a region requestfrom a user of the community network 100. The region request may includesearching a region on the geo-spatial map 200 based on name,latitude/longitude, clicking on a map, etc. For example, the regionassociated with the representative body (e.g., city council) may includea city (e.g., Pleasantville).

The block 202 may display details associated with an elected official(e.g., mayor) in the region (e.g., a city). For example, the details ofthe elected official may include name and/or location of the electedofficial, and/or a number of votes obtained by the elected official. Theblock 202 may also display details of the representative body associatedwith the elected official of the region. The details of therepresentative body may include name of the members 104A-N of citycouncil, and a number of points associated with each of the members104A-N.

The vote for the next mayor option 204 may enable the users to vote fromamong the second subset of the members 104A-N corresponding to an office(e.g., next mayor of the city). The vote obtained from the users may beapplied to one of the members 104A-N based on a residence and/or aneligibility of the user. For example, the vote may be obtained on aperiodic basis.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the user interface view250 displays a city (e.g., requested by the user) and/or arepresentative body (e.g., mayor and the members 104A-N of city council)associated with the city on the geo-spatial map 200. The block 202displays city as “Pleasantville, Calif., United States”, the mayor ofthe city as “Frank Andrews”, a percentage of votes obtained by the mayoras “56%” on the geo-spatial map 200. The block 202 also displays themembers 104A-N of the city council as “Jill Baker”, “Jim Adams”, and“James Smith” and the number of points obtained by Jill Baker as “3000points”, Jim Adams as “2900 points”, and James Smith as “2500 points”.The user interface view 250 may enable the users of the communitynetwork 100 to vote for the next mayor of Pleasantville, Calif., UnitedStates through the vote for the next mayor option 204.

FIG. 3 is a user interface view 350 of electing a next governor in aregion associated with the community network 100, according to oneembodiment. Particularly, FIG. 3 illustrates the geo-spatial map 200, ablock 300 and a vote for the next governor option 302, according to oneembodiment.

The geo-spatial map 200 may display a region (e.g., a state) associatedwith a portion of the community network 100. The geo-spatial map 200 mayalso display a representative body (e.g., containing the members 104A-Nwith a highest number of points) within the region associated with thecommunity network 100. The region associated with the representativebody (e.g., state legislature) may include a state (e.g., CA). Forexample, the geo-spatial map 200 may display the state based on a regionrequest from a user of the community network 100. The region request maybe obtained though a search query provided by the user.

The block 300 may display details associated with an elected official(e.g., governor) in the region (e.g., a state). For example, the detailsof the elected official may include name and/or location of the electedofficial, and/or a number of votes obtained by the elected official. Theblock 300 may also display details of the representative body associatedwith the elected official of the region. The details of therepresentative body may include names of the members 104A-N of statelegislature, a number of points associated with each of the members104A-N.

The vote for the next governor option 302 may enable the users to votefor from among the second subset of the members 104A-N corresponding toan office (e.g., next governor of the state). The vote obtained (e.g.,on a periodic basis) from the users may be applied to one of the members104A-N based on a residence and/or an eligibility of the user.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the user interface view350 displays a state (e.g., requested by the user) and a representativebody (e.g., governor and the members 104A-N of state legislature)associated with the state on the geo-spatial map 200. The block 300displays the state as “California, United States”, the governor of thestate as “Warren Beatty”, a percentage of votes obtained by the governoras “58%” on the geo-spatial map 200. The block 300 also displays themembers 104A-N of the state legislature as “Carol Lawson”, “AaronJames”, and “Kevin Chen” and the number of points obtained by CarolLawson as “10000 points”, Aaron James as 9000 points”, and “Kevin Chenas “8700 points”. The user interface view 350 may enable the users ofthe community network 100 to vote for the next governor of California,United States through the vote for the next governor option 302.

FIG. 4 is a user interface view 450 of electing a next president in aregion associated with the community network 100, according to oneembodiment. Particularly, FIG. 4 illustrates the geo-spatial map 200, ablock 400 and a vote for the next president option 402, according to oneembodiment.

The geo-spatial map 200 may display a region (e.g., a country)associated with a portion of the community network 100. The geo-spatialmap 200 may also display a representative body (e.g., containing themembers 104A-N with a highest number of points) within the regionassociated with the community network 100. The region associated withthe representative body (e.g., senate) may include a country (e.g.,United States of America). For example, the geo-spatial map 200 maydisplay the country based on a region request from a user of thecommunity network 100. In one example embodiment, the region request maybe obtained through a search query (e.g., may include a name, alatitude, a longitude, an address, etc.) provided by the user.

The block 400 may display details associated with an elected official(e.g., president) in the region (e.g., a country). For example, thedetails of the elected official may include name and/or location of theelected official, and/or a number of votes obtained by the electedofficial. The block 400 may also display details of the representativebody associated with the elected official of the region. The details ofthe representative body may include names of the members 104A-N ofsenate, and numbers of points associated with each of the members104A-N.

The vote for the next president option 402 may enable the users to votefor from among the second subset of the members 104A-N corresponding toan office (e.g., next president of the country). The vote obtained fromthe users may be applied to one of the members 104A-N based on aresidence and/or an eligibility of the user.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, the user interface view450 displays a country (e.g., requested by the user) and arepresentative body (e.g., president and members 104A-N of senate)associated with the country on the geo-spatial map 200. The block 400displays country as “United States of America”, the president of thecountry as “Tom Williams”, a percentage of votes obtained by thepresident as “51%” on the geo-spatial map 200. The block 400 alsodisplays the members 104A-N of the senate as “Michael Johnson”, “SteveNichols”, and “Sanjay Gupta” and the number of points obtained byMichael Johnson as “21000 points”, Steve Nichols as “19200 points”, andSanjay Gupta as “18300 points”. The user interface view 450 may enablethe users of the community network 100 to vote for the next “president”of the “United States of America” through the vote for the nextpresident option 402.

FIG. 5 is a user interface view 550 of electing a next secretary-generalin a region associated with the community network 100, according to oneembodiment. Particularly, FIG. 5 illustrates the geo-spatial map 200, ablock 500 and a vote for the next secretary-general option 502,according to one embodiment.

The geo-spatial map 200 may display a region (e.g., a planet) associatedwith the community network 100. The geo-spatial map 200 may also displaya representative body (e.g., containing the members 104A-N with ahighest number of points) within the region associated with thecommunity network 100. The region associated with the representativebody (e.g., representatives) may include a planet (e.g., Earth). Forexample, the geo-spatial map 200 may display the planet based on aregion request from a user of the community network 100. The regionrequest may be obtained based on a search query (e.g., a name, alatitude/longitude, an address, etc.) provided by the user of thecommunity network 100.

The block 500 may display details associated with an elected official(e.g., secretary-general) in the region (e.g., a planet). For example,the details of the elected official may include name and/or location ofthe elected official, and/or a number of votes obtained by the electedofficial. The block 500 may also display details of the representativebody associated with the elected official of the region (e.g., aplanet). The details of the representative body may include names of themembers 104A-N of the representative body, a number of points associatedwith each of the members 104A-N.

The vote for the next secretary-general option 502 may enable the usersto vote for from among the second subset of the members 104A-Ncorresponding to an office (e.g., next secretary-general of the Earth).The vote obtained (e.g., on a periodic basis) from the users may beapplied to one of the members 104A-N based on a residence of the userand/or an eligibility of the user.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the user interface view550 displays a planet (e.g., requested by the user) and a representativebody (e.g., secretary-general and representatives) associated with theplanet on the geo-spatial map 200. The blocks 500 displays the planet as“Earth”, the secretary-general of the planet as “Jose Garcia”, apercentage of votes obtained by the secretary-general as “67%” on thegeo-spatial map 200. The block 500 also displays the members 104A-N ofthe representatives as “Carl Jung”, “Nadia Petrov”, and “Ali Khan” andthe number of points obtained by Carl Jung as “50000 points”, NadiaPetrov as “45000 points”, and Ali Khan as “42000 points”. The userinterface view 550 may enable users of the community network 100 to votefor the next secretary-general of the Earth through the vote for thenext secretary-general option 502.

FIG. 6 is a block representation of a representative interface 600,according to one embodiment. Particularly, FIG. 6 illustrates aneighborhood management module 602, a neighborhood cleanup module 604, arepresentative communication module 606 and a forum 608, according toone embodiment.

The neighborhood management module 602 may enable a representative bodyto manage a portion of the community network 100 associated with aparticular region. For example, the neighborhood management module 602may provide a neighborhood management option to the representative bodyfor managing the community network 100 associated with the members104A-N. The representative body may manage general activities by users,unauthorized deletion of profiles, and/or posting of slanderous commentsand/or blogs.

The neighborhood cleanup module 604 may enable the representative bodyto regulate member profiles in the community network 100. Therepresentative body may regulate profiles of the members 104A-N througha member profile regulation option provided by the representativeinterface 600. The regulation of member profiles may includeunauthorized updation, deletion, creation, edition of profilesassociated with the members 104A-N of the community 102, etc. Therepresentative communication module 606 may enable the members 104A-N tocommunicate (e.g., for managing the community network 100 associatedwith the particular region) with each other through a communicationmedium. For example, the communication medium may include voice chat,email, IM, text message, etc.

The forum 608 may display comments from the members 104A-N of thecommunity network 100. For example, the forum 608 may be web forums,message boards, discussion boards, discussion groups (e.g., electronic),discussion forums, bulletin boards, etc. which facilitate the members104A-N to hold discussions and/or post user-generated content. In oneexample embodiment, the comments within the forum 608 may be displayedeither in chronological order or as threaded discussions.

The neighborhood management module 602 of the representative interface600 (e.g., accessible by the representative body) may be configured toprovide the neighborhood management option to the representative body.The neighborhood cleanup module 604 of the representative interface 600may be configured to provide the member profile regulation option to therepresentative body. The representative communication module 606 may beconfigured to send and/or receive messages between each of the secondsubset of the members 104A-N. The forum 608 of the representativeinterface 600 may be configured to display a comment from the firstsubset 104A-N.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of organizing the community network 100,according to one embodiment. In operation 702, a region is obtained(e.g., from the geo-spatial repository 110 of FIG. 1) on a geo-spatialmap 200. For example, the region may be based on the geographic radiusaround members 104A-N of the community network 100 and/or may correspondto a defined geographical area of city, county, state, country, group ofcountries, etc., where the member is located in. The region may includecity, county, state, country, continent, etc. For example, the region(e.g., associated with the community network 100) may be obtained on thegeo-spatial map 200 based on user's request.

In operation 704, members 104A-N residing in the region are obtained.For example, the members 104A-N residing in the region may be obtainedfrom the member repository 112. In operation 706, the members 104A-Nwith a highest number of points in the region are determined (e.g.,using the government management module 108 of FIG. 1). The number ofpoints may be determined based on an activity level of the members104A-N in the region. For example, the activity level of each of themembers 104A-N may be based on participation of the members 104A-N inthe community network 100. The activity level may be estimated based ona list of the activities (e.g., physical, social, etc.) the members104A-N of the community network 100 performs from day to day.

In operation 708, a representative body is created (e.g., by thegovernment management module 108 of FIG. 1) from the members 104A-N withthe highest number of points in the region. For example, therepresentative body may be created based on an activity level of each ofthe members 104A-N, and/or on a periodic basis. The representative bodymay be created to manage the community network 100 associated with acity, a county, a state, a group of countries, a continent, a planet,etc.

In operation 710, votes may be obtained (e.g., on a periodic basis) foran elected official in the region. The elected official may include amayor, a governor, a president, a secretary-general, etc. The votesobtained may be applied to the members 104A-N of the representative bodybased on determination of validity of vote and/or residence of the userin the region. For example, the validity of vote may be based on aneligibility of one of the members 104A-N and/or the voter.

In operation 712, the elected official is selected from the members104A-N of the representative body with a highest number of votes. Forexample, the elected official associated with the region may be electedby the members 104A-N of the community network 100 through an onlinevoting system.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of electing an official by voting on thecommunity network 100, according to one embodiment. In operation 802, aregion request is obtained from a user. For example, the users of thecommunity network 100 may be the members 104A-N of the community 102. Inone example embodiment, the region request may be obtained through asearch query provided by the user. In addition, the region request maybe based on a geographic radius (e.g., 5 miles) around the user (e.g., amember 104) of the community network 100.

In operation 804, a region corresponding to the region request may bedisplayed (e.g., using the geo-spatial repository 110 of FIG. 1) on ageo-spatial map (e.g., the geo-spatial map 200 of FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5).The region displayed on the geo-spatial map 200 may correspond to adefined geographical area of a city, a county, a state, a group ofcountries, a continent, a planet, etc. in which the residence of theuser is located.

In operation 806, a representative body containing the members 104A-N ofthe community network 100 of the region may be displayed. Therepresentative body displayed on the geo-spatial map 200 may be a groupof members 104A-N formed (e.g., using the government management module108 of FIG. 1) based on an activity level of each of the members 104A-N.For example, the activity level may be based on participation of themembers 104A-N in the community network 100. The members 104A-N may beinvolved in building the community network 100, deleting profiles,reporting abuse information and/or comments, etc. Also, the members104A-N may be unusually (e.g., significantly) connected to other usersin the region.

In operation 808, a vote may be obtained from the user for an electedofficial. For example, the vote corresponding to the elected officialmay be obtained on a periodic basis (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly,etc.).

In operation 810, it is determined (e.g., using the geo-spatialrepository 110 and the member repository 112 of FIG. 1) whether the user(e.g., who has provided the region request) resides in the region (e.g.,displayed corresponding to the region request) or not. If the user doesnot reside in the requested region (e.g., displayed on the geo-spatialmap 200) then the process of voting (e.g., the elected official in theregion) on the community network 100 may terminate.

In operation 812, it is determined whether the vote obtained from theuser of the community network 100 corresponding to the elected officialis valid or not. If it is determined that the vote obtained from theuser of the community network 100 is not valid, then the process ofvoting may terminate. The validity of vote is determined based on aneligibility of the user and/or an eligibility of one of the members104A-N.

In operation 814, the vote obtained from the user is applied to the oneof the members 104A-N of the representative body in the region. Forexample, the vote is applied to the elected official based on thevalidity and/or residence of the region (e.g., within the regiondisplayed on the geo-spatial map 200).

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic system view 900 of a data processing system inwhich any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be performed,according to one embodiment. Particularly, the diagrammatic system view900 of FIG. 9 illustrates a processor 902, a main memory 904, a staticmemory 906, a bus 908, a video display 910, an alpha-numeric inputdevice 912, a cursor control device 914, a drive unit 916, a signalgeneration device 918, a network interface device 920, a machinereadable medium 922, instructions 924 and a network 926, according toone embodiment.

The diagrammatic system view 900 may indicate a personal computer and/ora data processing system in which one or more operations disclosedherein are performed. The processor 902 may be a microprocessor, a statemachine, an application specific integrated circuit, a fieldprogrammable gate array, etc. (e.g., Intel® Pentium® processor). Themain memory 904 may be a dynamic random access memory and/or a primarymemory of a computer system. The static memory 906 may be a hard drive,a flash drive, and/or other memory information associated with the dataprocessing system. The bus 908 may be an interconnection between variouscircuits and/or structures of the data processing system.

The video display 910 may provide graphical representation ofinformation on the data processing system. The alpha-numeric inputdevice 912 may be a keypad, a keyboard and/or any other input device oftext (e.g., special device to aid the physically handicapped). Thecursor control device 914 may be a pointing device such as a mouse.

The drive unit 916 may be the hard drive, a storage system, and/or otherlonger term storage subsystem. The signal generation device 918 may be abios and/or a functional operating system of the data processing system.The network interface device 920 may be a device that may performinterface functions such as code conversion, protocol conversion and/orbuffering required for communication to and from the network 926. Themachine readable medium 922 may provide instructions on which any of themethods disclosed herein may be performed. The instructions 924 mayprovide source code and/or data code to the processor 902 to enable anyone or more operations disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 is a process flow of the government management module 108 ofFIG. 1, according to one embodiment. In operation 1002, a region (e.g.,a city, a county, a state, a group of countries, a continent, a planet,etc.) may be obtained (e.g., using the geo-spatial repository 110 ofFIG. 1) on a geo-spatial map (e.g., geo-spatial map 200 of FIG. 2). Inoperation 1004, a first subset of members 104A-N of a community network100 associated with the region may be obtained (e.g., using the memberrepository 112 of FIG. 1).

In operation 1006, a second subset of the members 104A-N with a highestnumber of points may be determined (e.g., using the governmentmanagement module 108 of FIG. 1) from the first subset 104A-N. Inoperation 1008, a representative body may be created (e.g., based on anactivity level associated with a number of points of each of the firstsubset 104A-N) from the second subset 104A-N. In operation 1010, therepresentative body may be enabled to manage a portion of the communitynetwork 100 associated with the region (e.g., through the representativeinterface 600 of FIG. 6).

In operation 1012, a number of votes may be obtained (e.g., on aperiodic basis) from the first subset 104A-N corresponding to an electedofficial (e.g., may include a mayor, a president, a governor, asecretary-general, etc.) of the region. In operation 1014, one of thesecond subset 104A-N with a highest number of the votes may bedetermined (e.g., using the government management module 108 of FIG. 1).In operation 1016, the one of the second subset 104A-N may be selected(e.g., using the government management module 108 of FIG. 1) as theelected official.

Although the present embodiments have been described with reference tospecific example embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.For example, the various devices, modules, analyzers, generators, etc.described herein may be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry(e.g., CMOS based logic circuitry), firmware, software and/or anycombination of hardware, firmware, and/or software (e.g., embodied in amachine readable medium) including servers and devices performing suchmethods described herein.

For example, the various electrical structure and methods may beembodied using hardware servers, transistors, logic gates, andelectrical circuits (e.g., Application Specific Integrated Circuitry(ASIC) and/or in Digital Signal Processor (DSP) circuitry). For example,the member management module 106, the government management module 108and other modules of FIGS. 1-10 may be enabled using a member managementcircuit, a government management circuit and other circuits using one ormore of the technologies described herein.

In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations,processes, and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in amachine-readable medium and/or a machine accessible medium compatiblewith a data processing system (e.g., a computer system), and may beperformed in any order. Accordingly, the specification and drawings areto be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

FIG. 11 is a user interface view of an occupant's profile associatedwith the shared structure in the geo-spatial environment, according toone embodiment. Particularly, FIG. 11 illustrates a my family link 1100,an option 1102, an unclaim this profile option 1104, a block 1106, a mygroups link 1108 and a my garage link 1110, according to one embodiment.

The my family link 1100 may enable the users to visualize informationassociated with the family members of the occupant of the sharedstructure in the geo-spatial environment. The option 1102 may indicatestatus of a profile associated with the occupant of the sharedstructure. The unclaim this profile option 1104 may enable the occupantto un-claim the profile if the occupant has accidentally claimed thatprofile 1106 may offer information associated with different profilemodes (e.g., claimable, public, private) to the users of the geo-spatialenvironment.

The my groups link 1108 may provide an interface where the occupant ofthe shared structure form social, professional and/or collectivepurchasing groups with other occupants of the shared structure in thegeo-spatial environment. The my garage link 1110 may offer informationabout goods and/or services that the occupant wishes to sell to otherusers of the geo-spatial environments 118A-N.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 11, the user interfaceview 1150 displays the profile of the occupant represented through thegroup pointer. The users of the geo-spatial environment may add contentto the profile until the profile is claimed by the particular occupant.The block 1106 displays that the claimable profile is readable andeditable by the other users, the public profile is readable but noteditable by the other users and the private profile is readable andeditable only by the person who claims the profile. The user interfaceview 1150 may enable the occupant of the shared structure to un-claimthe claimed profile through the unclaim the profile option 1104.

FIG. 12A is a process flow of automatically creating a group pointer toreplace colliding markers in the geo-spatial environment, according toone embodiment. In operation 1202, it may be determined that a marker iscolliding with another marker simultaneously displayed in a map based onan overlap area of the marker with the another marker. In operation1204, the group pointer (e.g., the group pointer 904A of FIG. 9) thatreplaces the marker and the another marker on the map may beautomatically created. In operation 1206, a view of the marker and theanother marker may be generated when a user selects the group pointer

In operation 1208, a residential group pointer (e.g., the residentialgroup pointer 800 of FIG. 8) may be generated in place of the grouppointer when the marker and the another marker are associated with ashared residential structure. In operation 1210, a commercial grouppointer may be generated in place of the group pointer when the markerand the another marker are associated with a shared commercialstructure. In operation 1212, an industrial group pointer may begenerated in place of the group pointer when the marker and the anothermarker are associated with a shared industrial structure.

FIG. 12B is a continuation of the process flow of FIG. 12A, showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment. In operation 1214, aninterior space pointer may be generated in place of the group pointerwhen the marker and the another marker are associated with a sharedshopping mall, a shared mine, a shared tunnel, a shared amusement park,a shared private property, and/or a shared interior space. In operation1216, a family pointer may be generated in place of the interior spacepointer when the marker and the another marker are associated withmembers of a same family residing in the shared interior space. Inoperation 1218, a multiple-structure group pointer may be generated whenthe marker and the another marker are associated with adjacentstructures which are not shared by occupants identified through themarker and the another marker.

In operation 1220, it may be determined that the marker, the anothermarker, and the different markers are associated with a shared structurebased on an address data associated with occupants represented throughthe marker, the another marker, and the different markers. In operation1222, each one of the marker, the another marker, and the differentmarkers may be allocated automatically in a set of floors of the sharedstructure based on a unit data associated with the address data ofoccupants represented through the marker, the another marker and thedifferent markers. In operation 1224, a claimable interface may beprovided (e.g., through the claimable module 124 of FIG. 1) such thatthe occupants represented through the marker, the another marker, andthe different markers modify automatically determined allocation of eachone of the marker, the another marker, and the different markers in theset of floors of the shared structure through at least one of adrag-and-drop interface and/or a pick-and-place interface.

FIG. 12C is a continuation of the process flow of FIG. 12B, showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment. In operation 1226, alatitude, a longitude and/or an altitude position of a particular markermay be altered when the marker, the another marker, and/or the differentmarkers are moved. In operation 1228, the claimable interface of theparticular marker may be locked when a particular occupant associatedwith the particular marker claims a profile associated with theparticular marker and elects to control placement of the markerthemselves.

In operation 1230, users of a geo-spatial environment (e.g., thegeo-spatial environments 118A-N of FIG. 1) may be permitted tocontribute content in a form of a textual content, a video content,and/or a pictorial content about the particular occupant through theclaimable interface in a profile of the particular occupant until theparticular occupant locks the claimable interface and elects to controlcontribution to the profile. In operation 1232, a way may be providedthrough the claimable interface such that the occupants move the marker,the another marker, and the different markers to different buildingsand/or structures in the geo-spatial environments when the marker, theanother marker, and the different markers are misplaced.

In operation 1234, a floor constructor claimable (e.g., provided by thefloor constructor module 126 of FIG. 1) may be generated in which theoccupants create layouts (e.g., the layout 504 of FIG. 5) of differentfloor plans and/or hallways of the shared structure such that new and/orexisting markers are moved to the different floor plans and/or hallwaysas constructed through the floor constructor claimable. In operation1236, a voting interface may be provided (e.g., through the votingmodule 130 of FIG. 1) such that occupants of the shared structure electa particular layout of a particular floor as one that is to be lockedand used to represent a central map of the new and/or existing markersfor the particular floor.

FIG. 12D is a continuation of the process flow of FIG. 12C, showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment. In operation 1238,commerce may be enabled among the occupants of the shared structurethrough a community bulletin board that only verified occupants of theshared structure contribute to and have access to, such that theoccupants barter, exchange, buy and/or sell goods and/or services amongonly other occupants of the shared structure. In operation 1240, agrouping interface may be provided (e.g., by the groups module 132 ofFIG. 1) to the occupants of the shared structure to form social,professional, and/or collective purchasing groups with other occupantsof the shared structure in the geo-spatial environment.

FIG. 13 is a process flow of placing a pointer representing a set ofmarkers on a map, according to one embodiment. In operation 1302, a setof markers may be placed in a map. In operation 1304, the set of markersmay be simultaneously displayed with each other in the map based on alocation data associated with each of the set of markers. In operation1306, a pointer (e.g., the pointer 120 of FIG. 1) may be created whendifferent ones of the set of markers overlap with each other because ofhaving a same location data and an adjacent location data with eachother.

In operation 1308, the pointer may be customized based on a neighborhoodand/or a relationship characteristic between the different ones of theset of overlapping markers. In operation 1310, an interface may beprovided (e.g., through the claimable module 124 of FIG. 1) such thatthe set of markers and the pointer (e.g., the pointer 120 of FIG. 1) areindividually and/or in combination moveable and such that profiles ofoccupants identifiable through the set of markers are modifiable byusers of a geo-spatial social network until the profiles are claimed byindividual occupants of a location marked through each of the set ofmarkers.

Although the present embodiments have been described with reference tospecific example embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.For example, the various devices, modules, analyzers, generators, etc.described herein may be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry(e.g., CMOS based logic circuitry), firmware, software and/or anycombination of hardware, firmware, and/or software (e.g., embodied in amachine readable medium). For example, the various electrical structuresand methods may be embodied using transistors, logic gates, andelectrical circuits (e.g., application specific integrated ASICcircuitry and/or in Digital Signal; Processor DSP circuitry). Forexample, the central module 100, the structure module 102, theidentification module 104, the visualization module 106, the markermodule 108, the collision module 110, the profile module 112, theclaimable module 124, the floor constructor module 126, the commercemodule 128, the voting module 130, the groups module 132, the displaymodule 202, the image upload module 204, the meta-data module 206, thesearch module and other modules of FIGS. 1-13 may be enabled using acentral circuit, a structure circuit, an identification circuit, avisualization circuit, a marker circuit, a collision circuit, a profilecircuit, a claimable circuit, a floor construction circuit, a commercecircuit, a voting circuit, a groups circuit, a display circuit, an imageupload circuit, a meta-data circuit, a search circuit and other circuitsusing one or more of the technologies described herein.

A method, apparatus and system of map based neighborhood search andcommunity contribution are disclosed. In the following description, forthe purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. Itwill be evident, however to one skilled in the art that the variousembodiments may be practiced without these specific details.

FIG. 14 is a user interface view of a group view 1402 associated withparticular geographical location, according to one embodiment.Particularly FIG. 14 illustrates, a map 1400, a groups view 1402,according to one embodiment. In the example embodiment illustrated inFIG. 14, the map view 1400 may display map view of the geographicallocation of the specific group of the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The groups view 1402 maycontain the information (e.g., address, occupant, etc.) associated withthe particular group of the specific geographical location (e.g., thegeographical location displayed in the map 1400) of the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). Themembers 1404 may contain the information about the members associatedwith the group (e.g., the group associated with geographical locationdisplayed in the map) of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

FIG. 15 is a user interface view of claim view 1550, according to oneembodiment. The claim view 1550 may enable the user to claim thegeographical location of the registered user. Also, the claim view 1550may facilitate the user of the global neighborhood environment (e.g.,the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) to claim the geographical locationof property under dispute. In FIG. 15, an address someone is claiming isshown as 1502, and a choice to see adjacent neighborhoods is shown aschoice 1504, and an indicator that you will need to show proof ofownership if claim is disputed is shown as 1506.

In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 15, the operation 29502may allow the registered user of the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) to claim the address of thegeographic location claimed by the registered user. The operation 29504illustrated in example embodiment of FIG. 15, may enable the user todelist the claim of the geographical location. The operation 29506 mayoffer information associated with the document to be submitted by theregistered users of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) to claim the geographical location.

FIG. 16 is a user interface view of a building builder 1602, accordingto one embodiment. Particularly the FIG. 16 illustrates, a map 1600, abuilding builder 1602, according to one embodiment. The map 1600 maydisplay the geographical location in which the verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B) may createand/or modify empty claimable profiles (e.g., the claimable profile 4006of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A, the claimableprofile 1704 of FIG. 17), building layouts, social network pages, andfloor levels structures housing residents and businesses in theneighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29). The buildingbuilder 1602 may enable the verified registered users (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B) of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) to draw floorlevel structures, add neighbor's profiles and/or may also enable toselect the floor number, claimable type, etc. as illustrated in exampleembodiment of FIG. 16.

The verified registered user 4110 may be verified registered user of theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29) interested in creating and/or modifying claimable profiles (e.g.,the claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102of FIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17), building layouts,social network pages, and floor level structure housing residents andbusinesses in the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG.29) in the building builder 1602.

For example, a social community module (e.g., a social community module2906 of FIG. 29) of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) may generate a building creator (e.g.,the building builder 1602 of FIG. 16) in which the registered users maycreate and/or modify empty claimable profiles (e.g., the claimableprofile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A,the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17), building layouts, social networkpages, and floor levels structures housing residents and/or businessesin the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29).

FIG. 17 is a systematic view of communication of claimable data,according to one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 17 illustrates a map1701, verified user profile 1702, choices 1708 and a new claimable page1706, according to one embodiment. The map 1701 may locate the detailsof the address of the registered user of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The verifieduser profile 1702 may store the profiles of the verified user of theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29. The claimable profile 1704 may be the profiles of the registereduser who may claim them in the global neighborhood environment (e.g.,the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

In operation 1700 the search for the user profile (e.g., the userprofile 29200 of FIG. 40A) is been carried whom the registered user maybe searching. The new claimable page 1706 may solicit for the details ofa user whom the registered user is searching for in the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). Thechoices 1708 may ask whether the requested search is any among thedisplayed names. The new claimable page 1706 may request for the detailsof location such as country, state and/or city. The operation 1700 maycommunicate with the choices 1708, and the new claimable page 1706.

For example, a no-match module (e.g., a no-match module 3112 of FIG. 31)of the search module (e.g., the search module 2908 of FIG. 29) torequest additional information from the verified registered user about aperson, place, and business having no listing in the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) when no matchesare found in a search query of the verified registered user (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B), and to create a newclaimable page 1706 based on a response of the verified user profile1702 about the at least one person, place, and business not previouslyindexed in the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server2900 of FIG. 29).

FIG. 18 is a systematic view of a network view 1850, according to oneembodiment. Particularly it may include a GUI display 1802, a GUIdisplay 1804, device 1806, a device 1808, a network 1810, a router 1812,a switch 1814, a firewall 1816, a load balancer 1818, a set of layers1820, an application server#1 1824, a web application server 1826, aninter-process communication 1828, a computer server 1830, an imageserver 1832, a multiple servers 1834, a switch 1836, a database storage1838, database software 1840 and a mail server 1842, according to oneembodiment. FIG. 18 illustrates the global neighborhood environment 1800as having the various switches, storage, and servers as described.

The GUI display 1802 and GUI display 1804 may display particular case ofuser interface for interacting with a device capable of representingdata (e.g., computer, cellular telephones, television sets etc.) whichemploys graphical images and widgets in addition to text to representthe information and actions available to the user (e.g., the user 2916of FIG. 29). The device 1806 and device 1808 may be any device capableof presenting data (e.g., computer, cellular telephones, television setsetc.). The network 1810 may be any collection of networks (e.g.,internet, private networks, university social system, private network ofa company etc.) that may transfer any data to the user (e.g., the user2916 of FIG. 29) and the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

The router 1812 may forward packets between networks and/or informationpackets between the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29) and registered user over the network (e.g.,internet). The switch 1814 may act as a gatekeeper to and from thenetwork (e.g., internet) and the device. The firewall 1816 may providesprotection (e.g., permit, deny or proxy data connections) fromunauthorized access to the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29. The load balancer 1818 may balance thetraffic load across multiple mirrored servers in the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) and may be usedto increase the capacity of a server farm beyond that of a single serverand/or may allow the service to continue even in the face of server downtime due to server failure and/or server maintenance.

The application server 1822 may be server computer on a computer networkdedicated to running certain software applications of the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). Theweb application server 1826 may be server holding all the web pagesassociated with the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29). The inter-process communication 1828 may be setof rules for organizing and un-organizing factors and results regardingthe global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29). The computer server 1830 may serve as the application layer inthe multiple servers of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) and/or may include a central processingunit (CPU), a random access memory (RAM) temporary storage ofinformation, and/or a read only memory (ROM) for permanent storage ofinformation regarding the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

The image server 1832 may store and provide digital images of theregistered user of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The multiple servers 1834 may bemultiple computers or devices on a network that may manages networkresources connecting the registered user and the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The databasestorage 1838 may store software, descriptive data, digital images,system data and any other data item that may be related to the user(e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) of the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The database software 1840may be provided a database management system that may support the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the neighborhood environment 2900 ofFIG. 29. The mail server 1842 may be provided for sending, receiving andstoring mails. The device 1806 and 1808 may communicate with the GUIdisplay(s) 1802 and 1804, the router 1812 through the network 1810 andthe global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29).

FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a database, according to one embodiment.Particularly the block diagram of the database 1900 of FIG. 19illustrates a user data 1902, a location data, a zip codes data 1906, aprofiles data 1908, a photos data 1910, a testimonials data 1912, asearch parameters data 1914, a neighbor data 1916, a friends requestsdata 1918, a invites data 1920, a bookmarks data 1922, a messages data1924 and a bulletin board data 1926, according to one embodiment.

The database 1900 be may include descriptive data, preference data,relationship data, and/or other data items regarding the registered userof the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29.

The user data 1902 may be a descriptive data referring to informationthat may describe a user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29). It mayinclude elements in a certain format for example Id may be formatted asinteger, Firstname may be in text, Lastname may be in text, Email may bein text, Verify may be in integer, Password may be in text, Gender maybe in m/f, Orientation may be in integer, Relationship may be in y/n,Dating may be in y/n, Friends may be in y/n, Activity may be in y/n,Status may be in integer, Dob may be in date, Country may be in text,Zip code may be in text, Postalcode may be in text, State may be intext, Province may be in text, City may be in text, Occupation may be intext, Location may be in text, Hometown may be in text, Photo may be ininteger, Membersince may be in date, Lastlogin may be in date,Lastupdate may be in date, Recruiter may be in integer, Friendcount maybe in integer, Testimonials may be in integer, Weeklypdates may be iny/n, Notifications may be in y/n, Photomode may be in integer and/orType may be in integer.

The locations data 1904 may clarify the location details in formattedapproach. For example Zip code may be formatted as integer, City may bein text and/or State may be in text. The zip codes data 1906 may provideinformation of a user location in formatted manner. For example Zip codemay be formatted as text, Latitude may be in integer and/or Longitudemay be in integer. The profile data 1908 may clutch personneldescriptive data that may be formatted.

For examples ID may be formatted as integer, Interests may be in text,Favoritemusic may be in text, Favaoritebooks may be in text, Favoritetvmay be in text, Favoritemovies may be in text, Aboutme may be in text,Wanttommet may be in text, Ethnicity may be in integer, Hair may be ininteger, Eyes may be in integer, Height may be in integer, Body may bein integer, Education may be in integer, Income may be in integer,Religion may be in integer, Politics may be in integer Smoking may be ininteger, Drinking may be in integer and/or Kids may be in integer.

The photos data 1910 may represent a digital image and/or a photographof the user formatted in certain approach. For example Id may beformatted as integer, User may be in integer, Fileid may be in integerand/or Moderation may be in integer. The testimonials data 1912 mayallow users to write “testimonials” 1912, or comments, about each otherand in these testimonials, users may describe their relationship to anindividual and their comments about that individual. For example theuser might write a testimonial that states “Rohan has been a friend ofmine since graduation days. He is smart, intelligent, and a talentedperson.” The elements of testimonials data 1912 may be formatted as Idmay be in integer, User may be in integer, Sender may be integer,Approved may be in y/n, Date may be in date and/or Body may be formattedin text.

The search parameters data 1914 may be preference data referring to thedata that may describe preferences one user has with respect to another(For example, the user may indicate that he is looking for a female whois seeking a male for a serious relationship). The elements of thesearch parameters data 1914 may be formatted as User 1902 may be ininteger, Photosonly may be in y/n, Justphotos may be in y/n, Male may bein y/n, Female may be in y/n, Men may be in y/n, Women may be in y/n,Helptohelp may be in y/n, Friends may be in y/n, Dating may be in y/n,Serious may be in y/n, Activity may be in y/n, Minage may be in integer,Maxage may be in integer, Distance may be in integer, Single may be iny/n, Relationship may be in y/n, Married may be in y/n and/orOpenmarriage may be in y/n.

The neighbor's data 1916 may generally refer to relationships amongregistered users of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) that have been verified and the user hasrequested another individual to join the system as neighbor 1916, andthe request may be accepted. The elements of the neighbors data 1916 maybe formatted as user1 may be in integer and/or user2 may be in integer.The friend requests data 1918 may tracks requests by users within theneighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29) to otherindividuals, which requests have not yet been accepted and may containelements originator and/or respondent formatted in integer. The invitesdata 1920 may describe the status of a request by the user to invite anindividual outside the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N ofFIG. 29) to join the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N ofFIG. 29) and clarify either the request has been accepted, ignoredand/or pending.

The elements of the invites data 1920 may be formatted as Id may be ininteger, Key may be in integer, Sender may be in integer, Email may bein text, Date may be in date format, Clicked may be in y/n, Joined maybe in y/n and/or Joineduser may be in integer. The bookmarks data 1922may be provide the data for a process allowed wherein a registered userof the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29) may indicate an interest in the profile of another registereduser. The bookmark data 1922 elements may be formatted as Owner may bein integer, User may be in integer and/or Visible may be in y/n. Themessage data 1924 may allow the users to send one another privatemessages.

The message data 1924 may be formatted as Id may be in integer, User maybe in integer, Sender may be in integer, New may be in y/n, Folder maybe in text, Date may be in date format, Subject may be in text and/orBody may be in text format. The bulletin board data 1926 may supportsthe function of a bulletin board that users may use to conduct onlinediscussions, conversation and/or debate. The claimable data 1928 mayshare the user profiles (e.g., the user profile 29200 of FIG. 40A) inthe neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29) and itselements may be formatted as claimablesinputed and/or others may be intext format.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary graphical user interface view for datacollection, according to one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 20illustrates exemplary screens 2002, 2004 that may be provided to theuser (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) through an interface may bethrough the network (e.g., Internet), to obtain user descriptive data.The screen 2002 may collect data allowing the user (e.g., the user 2916of FIG. 29) to login securely and be identified by the neighborhood(e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29). This screen 2002 may allowthe user to identify the reason he/she is joining the neighborhood. Forexample, a user may be joining the neighborhood for “neighborhoodwatch”. The screen 2004 may show example of how further groups may bejoined. For example, the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) may bewilling to join a group “Raj for city council”. It may also enclose thedata concerning Dob, country, zip/postal code, hometown, occupationand/or interest.

FIG. 21 is an exemplary graphical user interface view of imagecollection, according to one embodiment. A screen 2100 may be interfaceprovided to the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) over the network(e.g., internet) may be to obtain digital images from system user. Theinterface 2102 may allow the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) tobrowse files on his/her computer, select them, and then upload them tothe neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29). The user(e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) may upload the digital images and/orphoto that may be visible to people in the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor2920 of FIG. 29) network and not the general public. The user may beable to upload a JPG, GIF, PNG and/or BMP file in the screen 2100.

FIG. 22 is an exemplary graphical user interface view of an invitation,according to one embodiment. An exemplary screen 2200 may be provided toa user through a user interface 2202 may be over the network (e.g.,internet) to allow users to invite neighbor or acquaintances to join theneighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29). The userinterface 2202 may allow the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) toenter one or a plurality of e-mail addresses for friends they may liketo invite to the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG.29). The exemplary screen 2200 may include the “subject”, “From”, “To”,“Optional personnel message”, and/or “Message body” sections. In the“Subject” section a standard language text may be included for joiningthe neighborhood (e.g., Invitation to join Fatdoor from John Doe, aneighborhood.).

The “From” section may include the senders email id (e.g.,user@domain.com). The “To” section may be provided to add the email idof the person to whom the sender may want to join the neighborhood(e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29). The message that may besent to the friends and/or acquaintances may include standard languagedescribing the present neighborhood, the benefits of joining and thesteps required to join the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-Nof FIG. 29). The user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) may choose toinclude a personal message, along with the standard invitation in the“Optional personal message” section. In the “Message body” section theinvited friend or acquaintance may initiate the process to join thesystem by clicking directly on an HTML link included in the e-mailmessage (e.g., http://www.fatdoor.com/join.jsp? Invite=140807). In oneembodiment, the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) may import e-mailaddresses from a standard computerized address book. The system mayfurther notify the inviting user when her invitee accepts or declinesthe invitation to join the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-Nof FIG. 29).

FIG. 23 is a flowchart of inviting the invitee(s) by the registereduser, notifying the registered user upon the acceptance of theinvitation by the invitee(s) and, processing and storing the input dataassociated with the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) in thedatabase, according to one embodiment. In operation 2302, the verifiedregistered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) willing to invite theindividual enters the email addresses of an individual “invitee”. Inoperation 2304, the email address and the related data of the inviteemay be stored in the database. In operation 2306, the invitation contentfor inviting the invitee may be generated from the data stored in thedatabase. In operation 2308, the registered user sends invitation to theinvitee(s).

In operation 2310, response from the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG.29) may be determined. The operation 2312, if the invitee doesn'trespond to invitation sent by the registered user then registered usermay resend the invitation for a predefined number of times. In operation2314, if the registered user resends the invitation to the same inviteefor predefined number of times and if the invitee still doesn't respondto the invitation the process may be terminated automatically.

In operation 2316, if the invitee accepts the invitation sent by theregistered user then system may notify the registered user that theinvitee has accepted the invitation. In operation 2318, the input fromthe present invitee(s) that may contain the descriptive data about thefriend (e.g., registered user) may be processed and stored in thedatabase.

For example, each registered user associated e-mail addresses ofindividuals who are not registered users may be stored and identified byeach registered user as neighbors. An invitation to become a new user(e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) may be communicated out to neighbor(e.g., the neighbors neighbor of FIG. 29) of the particular user. Anacceptance of the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) to whomthe invitation was sent may be processed.

The neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) may be added to adatabase and/or storing of the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG.29), a user ID and a set of user IDs of registered users who aredirectly connected to the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29),the set of user IDs stored of the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 ofFIG. 29) including at least the user ID of the verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16). Furthermore, the verified registereduser may be notified that the invitation to the neighbor (e.g., theneighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) has been accepted when an acceptance isprocessed. Also, inputs from the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 ofFIG. 29) having descriptive data about the friend may be processed andthe inputs in the database may be stored.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart of adding the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920of FIG. 29) to the queue, according to one embodiment. In operation2402, the system may start with the empty connection list and emptyqueue. In operation 2404, the user may be added to the queue. Inoperation 2406, it is determined whether the queue is empty. Inoperation 2408, if it is determined that the queue is not empty then thenext person P may be taken from the queue. In operation 2410, it may bedetermined whether the person P from the queue is user B or not. Inoperation 2412, if the person P is not user B then it may be determinedwhether the depth of the geographical location is less than maximumdegrees of separation.

If it is determined that depth is more than maximum allowable degrees ofseparation then it may repeat the operation 30408. In operation 2414, ifmay be determined that the depth of the geographical location (e.g., thegeographical location 4004 of FIG. 40A) is less than maximum degrees ofseparation then the neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) listfor person P may be processed. In operation 2416, it may be determinedwhether all the neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) in theneighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29) have beenprocessed or not. If all the friends are processed it may be determinedthe queue is empty.

In operation 2418, if all the neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG.29) for person P are not processed then next neighbor N may be takenfrom the list. In operation 2420, it may be determined whether theneighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) N has encountered beforeor not. In operation 2422, if the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 ofFIG. 29) has not been encountered before then the neighbor may be addedto the queue. In operation 2424, if the neighbor N has been encounteredbefore it may be further determined whether the geographical location(e.g., the geographical location 4004 of FIG. 40A) from where theneighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) has encountered previouslyis the same place or closer to that place.

If it is determined that the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG.29) has encountered at the same or closer place then the friend may beadded to the queue. If it may be determined that friend is notencountered at the same place or closer to that place then it may beagain checked that all the friends have processed. In operation 2426, ifit is determined that the person P is user B than the connection may beadded to the connection list and after adding the connection toconnection list it follows the operation 2412. In operation 2428, if itmay be determined that queue is empty then the operation may return theconnections list.

For example, a first user ID with the verified registered user (e.g.,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16) and a second user ID may be applied to thedifferent registered user. The verified registered user (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16) with the different registered user may beconnected with each other through at least one of a geo-positioning dataassociated with the first user ID and the second user ID. In addition, amaximum degree of separation (Nmax) of at least two that is allowed forconnecting any two registered users, (e.g., the two registered users whomay be directly connected may be deemed to be separated by one degree ofseparation and two registered users who may be connected through no lessthan one other registered user may be deemed to be separated by twodegrees of separation and two registered users who may be connectedthrough not less than N other registered users may be deemed to beseparated by N+1 degrees of separation).

Furthermore, the user ID of the different registered user may besearched (e.g., the method limits the searching of the differentregistered user in the sets of user IDs that may be stored as registeredusers who are less than Nmax degrees of separation away from theverified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16), such that theverified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and thedifferent registered user who may be separated by more than Nmax degreesof separation are not found and connected.) in a set of user IDs thatmay be stored of registered users who are less than Nmax degrees ofseparation away from the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16), and not in the sets of user IDs that may be stored forregistered users who are greater than or equal to Nmax degrees ofseparation away from the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16), until the user ID of the different registered user may befound in one of the searched sets. Also, the verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may be connected to the differentregistered user if the user ID of the different registered user may befound in one of the searched sets.

Moreover, the sets of user IDs that may be stored of registered usersmay be searched initially who are directly connected to the verifiedregistered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16). A profile of thedifferent registered user may be communicated to the verified registereduser (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) to display through a markerassociating the verified registered user (e.g., the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16)with the different registered user. A connection path between theverified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and thedifferent registered user, the connection path indicating at least oneother registered user may be stored through whom the connection pathbetween the verified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) andthe different registered user is made.

In addition, the connection path between the verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and the different registered user maybe communicated to the verified registered user to display. A hyperlinkin the connection path of each of the at least one registered users maybe embedded through whom the connection path between the verifiedregistered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and the differentregistered user is made.

FIG. 25 is a flowchart of communicating brief profiles of the registeredusers, processing a hyperlink selection from the verified registereduser (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and calculating and ensuringthe Nmax degree of separation of the registered users away from verifiedregistered users (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16), according to oneembodiment. In operation 2502, the data of the registered users may becollected from the database. In operation 2504, the relational pathbetween the first user and the second user may be calculated (e.g., theNmax degree of separation between verified registered user (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16) and the registered user).

For example, the brief profiles of registered users, including a briefprofile of the different registered user, to the verified registereduser (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) for display, each of the briefprofiles including a hyperlink to a corresponding full profile may becommunicated.

Furthermore, the hyperlink selection from the verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may be processed (e.g., upon processingthe hyperlink selection of the full profile of the different registereduser, the full profile of the different registered user may becommunicated to the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) for display). In addition, the brief profiles of thoseregistered users may be ensured who are more than Nmax degrees ofseparation away from the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) are not communicated to the verified registered user (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16) for display.

FIG. 26 is an N degree separation view 2650, according to oneembodiment. ME may be a verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29) centered in the neighborhood network. A, B, C,D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, and/or U may be theother registered user of the neighborhood network. The member of theneighborhood network may be separated from the centered verifiedregistered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) ME of the neighborhoodnetwork by certain degree of separation. The registered user A, B and Cmay be directly connected and are deemed to be separated by one degreeof separation from verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) ME. The registered user D, E, F, G, and H may be connectedthrough no less than one other registered user may be deemed to beseparated by two degree of separation from verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16) ME. The registered user I, J, K, and Lmay be connected through no less than N−1 other registered user may bedeemed to be separated by N degree of separation from verifiedregistered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) ME. The registered user M,N, O, P, Q, R S, T and U may be all registered user.

FIG. 27 is a user interface view 2700 showing a map, according to oneembodiment. Particularly FIG. 27 illustrates a satellite photo of aphysical world. The registered user of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) may use this forexploring the geographical location (e.g., the geographical location4004 of FIG. 40A) of the neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29).The registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG.41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may navigate, zoom,explore and quickly find particular desired geographical locations ofthe desired neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29). This mayhelp the registered user to read the map and/or plot the route of theneighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) on the world map.

FIG. 28A is a process flow of searching map based community andneighborhood contribution, according to one embodiment. In operation2802, a verified registered user (e.g., a verified registered user 4110of FIG. 41A-13B, a verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may beassociated with a user profile (e.g., a user profile 29200 of FIG. 40A).In operation 2804, the user profile (e.g., the user profile 29200 ofFIG. 40A) may be associated with a specific geographic location (e.g., ageographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A).

In operation 2806, a map (e.g., a map 4002 of FIG. 40A-12B, a map 1400of FIG. 14, a map 1600 of FIG. 16, a map 1701 of FIG. 17) may begenerated concurrently displaying the user profile (e.g., the userprofile 29200 of FIG. 40A) and the specific geographic location (e.g.,the geographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A). In operation, 2808, in themap, claimable profiles (e.g., a claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-B, aclaimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A, a claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17)associated with different geographic locations may be simultaneouslygenerated surrounding the specific geographic location (e.g., thegeographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A) associated with the user profile(e.g., the user profile 29200 of FIG. 40A).

In operation 2810, a query of at least one of the user profile (e.g.,the user profile 29200 of FIG. 40A) and the specific geographic location(e.g., the geographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A) may be processed. Inoperation 2812, a particular claimable profile of the claimable profiles(e.g., the claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-B, the claimable profile4102 of FIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) may beconverted to another user profile (e.g., the user profile 29200 of FIG.40A) when a different registered user claims a particular geographiclocation to the specific geographic location (e.g., the geographiclocation 4004 of FIG. 40A) associated with the particular claimableprofile (e.g., the claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-B, the claimableprofile 4102 of FIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17),wherein the user profile (e.g., the user profile 29200 of FIG. 40A) maybe tied to a specific property in a neighborhood (e.g., a neighborhood2902A-2902N of FIG. 29), and wherein the particular claimable profile(e.g., the claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile4102 of FIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) may beassociated with a neighboring property to the specific property in theneighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2920A-2920N of FIG. 29).

In operation 2814, a certain claimable profile (e.g., the claimableprofile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A,the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) of the claimable profiles (e.g.,the claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-B, the claimable profile 4102 ofFIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) may be delisted when aprivate registered user claims a certain geographic location (e.g., thegeographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A) adjacent to at least one of thespecific geographic location and the particular geographic location(e.g., the geographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A).

In operation 2816, the certain claimable profile (e.g., the claimableprofile 4006 of FIG. 40A-B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A, theclaimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) in the map (e.g., the map 4002 ofFIG. 40A-B, the map 1400 of FIG. 14, the map 1600 of FIG. 16, the map1701 of FIG. 17) when the certain claimable profile may be delistedand/or be masked through the request of the private registered user.

FIG. 28B is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28A showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment. In operation 2818, atag data associated with at least one of the specific geographiclocation, the particular geographic location (e.g., the geographiclocation 4004 of FIG. 40A), and the delisted geographic location may beprocessed. In operation 2820, a frequent one of the tag data may bedisplayed when at least one of the specific geographic location and theparticular geographic location (e.g., the geographic location 4004 ofFIG. 40A) may be made active, but not when the geographic location(e.g., the geographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A) may be delisted.

In operation 2822, a commercial user (e.g., a commercial user 4100 ofFIG. 41A-B) may be permitted to purchase a customizable business profile(e.g., a customizable business profile 4104 of FIG. 41B) associated witha commercial geographic location. In operation 2824, the verifiedregistered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) to communicate a messageto the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-2902N of FIG. 29) maybe enabled based on a selectable distance range away from the specificgeographic location.

In operation 2826, a payment of the commercial user (e.g., thecommercial user 4100 of FIG. 41A-B) and the verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may be processed. In operation 2828,the verified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may bepermitted to edit any information in the claimable profiles (e.g., theclaimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG.41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) including the particularclaimable profile and the certain claimable profile until the certainclaimable profile may be claimed by at least one of the differentregistered user and the private registered user.

In operation 2830, a claimant of any claimable profile (e.g., theclaimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG.41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) may be enabled to controlwhat information is displayed on their user profile (e.g., the userprofile 29200 of FIG. 40A). In operation 2832, the claimant to segregatecertain information on their user profile (e.g., the user profile 29200of FIG. 40A) may be allowed such that only other registered usersdirectly connected to the claimant are able to view data on their userprofile (e.g., the user profile 29200 of FIG. 40A).

FIG. 28C is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28B showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment. In operation 2834, afirst user ID with the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) and a second user ID to the different registered user may beapplied. In operation 2836, the verified registered user (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16) with the different registered user with each othermay be connected through at least one of associated with the first userID and the second user ID.

In operation 2838, a maximum degree of separation (Nmax) of at least twomay be set that is allowed for connecting any two registered users,wherein two registered users who are directly connected may be deemed tobe separated by one degree of separation and two registered users whoare connected through no less than one other registered user may bedeemed to be separated by two degrees of separation and two registeredusers who may be connected through no less than N other registered usersare deemed to be separated by N+1 degrees of separation. In operation2840, the user ID of the different registered user may be searched in aset of user IDs that are stored of registered users who are less thanNmax degrees of separation away from the verified registered user (e.g.,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16), and not in the sets of user IDs that are storedfor registered users who may be greater than or equal to Nmax degrees ofseparation away from the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16), until the user ID of the different registered user may befound in one of the searched sets.

In operation 2842, the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) may be connected to the different registered user if the userID of the different registered user may be found in one of the searchedsets, wherein the method limits the searching of the differentregistered user in the sets of user IDs that may be stored of registeredusers who may be less than Nmax degrees of separation away from theverified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16), such that theverified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and thedifferent registered user who may be separated by more than Nmax degreesof separation are not found and connected. In operation 2844, initiallyin the sets of user IDs that are stored of registered users who may bedirectly connected to the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) may be initially searched.

FIG. 28D is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28C showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment. In operation 2846, aprofile of the different registered user to the verified registered user(e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16) to display may be communicated througha marker associating the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) with the different registered user.

In operation 2848, a connection path between the verified registereduser (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and the different registereduser, the connection path indicating at least one other registered usermay be stored through whom the connection path between the verifiedregistered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and the differentregistered user may be made.

In operation 2850, the connection path between the verified registereduser (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) and the different registereduser to the verified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may becommunicated to display.

In operation 2852, a hyperlink in the connection path of each of the atleast one registered users may be embedded through whom the connectionpath between the verified registered user (e.g., the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16)and the different registered user may be made. In operation 2854, eachregistered user associated e-mail addresses of individuals who are notregistered users may be stored and identified by each registered user asneighbors (e.g., a neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29).

In operation 2856, an invitation may be communicated to become a newuser (e.g., a user 2916 of FIG. 29) to neighbors (e.g., the neighbor2920 of FIG. 29) of the particular user. In operation 2858, anacceptance of the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) to whomthe invitation was sent may be processed. In operation 2860, theneighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) to a database and storingof the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29), a user ID and theset of user IDs of registered users may be added who are directlyconnected to the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29), the setof user IDs stored of the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29)including at least the user ID of the verified registered user (e.g.,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16).

FIG. 28E is a continuation of process flow of FIG. 28D showingadditional processes, according to one embodiment. In operation 2862,the verified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) that theinvitation to the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) has beenaccepted may be notified when the acceptance is processed.

In operation 2864, inputs from the neighbor (e.g., the neighbor 2920 ofFIG. 29) having descriptive data about the friend and storing the inputsin the database may be processed. In operation 2866, brief profiles ofregistered users, including a brief profile of the different registereduser may be communicated, to the verified registered user (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16) for display, each of the brief profiles includingthe hyperlink to a corresponding full profile.

In operation 2868, the hyperlink selection from the verified registereduser (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may be processed, wherein,upon processing the hyperlink selection of the full profile of thedifferent registered user, the full profile of the different registereduser is communicated to the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) for display.

In operation 2870, brief profiles of those registered users who may bemore than Nmax degrees of separation away from the verified registereduser (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may not communicated to theverified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) may be ensuredfor display.

In one embodiment, a neighborhood communication system 2950 isdescribed. This embodiment includes a privacy server 2900 to apply anaddress verification algorithm (e.g., using verify module 3006 of FIG.30) associated with each user of the online community (e.g., as shown inthe social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) to verify that eachuser lives at a residence associated with a claimable residentialaddress (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimable module 2910 asdescribed in FIG. 31) of an online community (e.g., as shown in thesocial community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhoodnetwork module as described in FIG. 38) formed through a socialcommunity module 2906 of the privacy server 2900 using a processor 3902and a memory (e.g., as described in FIG. 39).

A network 2904, and a mapping server 2926 (e.g., providing global mapdata) communicatively coupled with the privacy server 2900 through thenetwork 2904 generate a latitudinal data and a longitudinal dataassociated with each claimable residential address (e.g., usingsub-modules of the claimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31) of theonline community (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 ofFIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module as described inFIG. 38) associated with each user of the online community (e.g., asshown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) in this embodiment.

The privacy server 2900 automatically determines a set of accessprivileges in the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 31 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38) associated with each user of the onlinecommunity (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36formed through the neighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38)by constraining access in the online community (e.g., as shown in thesocial community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhoodnetwork module as described in FIG. 38) based on a neighborhood boundarydetermined using a Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of the privacy server2900 in this embodiment.

The privacy server 2900 (e.g., a hardware device of a globalneighborhood environment) may transform the claimable residentialaddress (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimable module 2910 asdescribed in FIG. 31) into a claimed address upon an occurrence of anevent. The privacy server 2900 may instantiate the event when aparticular user 2916 is associated with the claimable residentialaddress (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimable module 2910 asdescribed in FIG. 31) based on a verification of the particular user2916 as living at a particular residential address (e.g., associatedwith the residence 2918 of FIG. 29) associated with the claimableresidential address (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimable module2910 as described in FIG. 31) using the privacy server 2900. The privacyserver 2900 may constrain the particular user 2916 to communicatethrough the online community (e.g., as shown in the social communityview 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module asdescribed in FIG. 38) only with a set of neighbors 2928 (e.g., such asthe particular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29 forming an occupant data) havingverified addresses using the privacy server 2900. The privacy server2900 may define the set of neighbors 2928 (e.g., such as the particularneighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) as other users of the online community (e.g.,as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) that have eachverified their addresses in the online community (e.g., as shown in thesocial community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhoodnetwork module as described in FIG. 38) using the privacy server 2900and/or which have each claimed residential addresses that are in athreshold radial distance from the claimed address of the particularuser 2916.

The privacy server 2900 may constrain the threshold radial distance tobe less than a distance of the neighborhood boundary using the Beziercurve algorithm 3040. The privacy server 2900 may permit theneighborhood boundary to take on a variety of shapes based on anassociated geographic connotation, a historical connotation, a politicalconnotation, and/or a cultural connotation of neighborhood boundaries.The privacy server 2900 may apply a database of constraints (e.g., thedatabases of FIG. 30 including the places database 3018) associated withneighborhood boundaries that are imposed on a map view of the onlinecommunity (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36formed through the neighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38)when permitting the neighborhood boundary to take on the variety ofshapes.

The privacy server 2900 may generate a user-generated boundary in a formof a polygon describing geospatial boundaries defining the particularneighborhood when a first user of a particular neighborhood thatverifies a first residential address of the particular neighborhoodusing the privacy server 2900 prior to other users in that particularneighborhood verifying their addresses in that particular neighborhoodplaces a set of points defining the particular neighborhood using a setof drawing tools in the map view of the online community (e.g., as shownin the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38). The privacy server2900 may optionally extend the threshold radial distance to an adjacentboundary of an adjacent neighborhood based a request of the particularuser 2916. The privacy server 2900 may generate a separate login to theonline community (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 ofFIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module as described inFIG. 38) designed to be usable by a police department, a municipalagency, a neighborhood association, and/or a neighborhood leaderassociated with the particular neighborhood.

The separate login may permit the police department, the municipalagency, the neighborhood association, and/or the neighborhood leader to:(1) invite residents of the particular neighborhood themselves (e.g.,see the user interface view of FIG. 22) using the privacy server 2900using a self-authenticating access code that permits new users thatenter the self-authenticating access code in the online community (e.g.,as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) to automaticallyjoin the particular neighborhood as verified users (e.g., the verifieduser 4110 of FIG. 41A), (2) generate a virtual neighborhood watch groupand/or an emergency preparedness group restricted to users verified inthe particular neighborhood using the privacy server 2900, (3) conducthigh value crime and/or safety related discussions from local policeand/or fire officials that is restricted to users verified in theparticular neighborhood using the privacy server 2900, (4) broadcastinformation across the particular neighborhood, and (5) receive and/ortrack neighborhood level membership and/or activity to identify leadersfrom the restricted group of users verified in the particularneighborhood using the privacy server 2900.

The privacy server 2900 may permit each of the restricted group of usersverified in the particular neighborhood using the privacy server 2900to: (1) share information about a suspicious activity that is likely toaffect several neighborhoods, (2) explain about a lost pet that mighthave wandered into an adjoining neighborhood, (3) rally support fromneighbors 2928 (e.g., such as the particular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29)from multiple neighborhoods to address civic issues, (4) spreadinformation about events comprising a local theater production and/or aneighborhood garage sale, and/or (5) solicit advice and/orrecommendations from the restricted group of users verified in theparticular neighborhood and/or optionally in the adjacent neighborhood.

The privacy server 2900 may flag a neighborhood feed from the particularneighborhood and/or optionally from the adjacent neighborhood as beinginappropriate. The privacy server 2900 may suspend users that repeatedlycommunicate self-promotional messages that are inappropriate as votedbased on a sensibility of any one of the verified users (e.g., theverified user 4110 of FIG. 41A) of the particular neighborhood and/oroptionally from the adjacent neighborhood. The privacy server 2900 maypersonalize which nearby neighborhoods that verified users (e.g., theverified user 4110 of FIG. 41A) are able to communicate through based ona request of the particular user 2916. The privacy server 2900 maypermit the neighborhood leader to communicate privately with leaders ofan adjoining neighborhood to plan and/or organize on behalf of an entireconstituency of verified users (e.g., a plurality of the verified user4110 of FIG. 41A) of the particular neighborhood associated with theneighborhood leader.

The privacy server 2900 may filter feeds to only display messages fromthe particular neighborhood associated with each verified user. Theprivacy server 2900 may restrict posts only in the particularneighborhood to verified users (e.g., the verified user 4110 of FIG.41A) having verified addresses within the neighborhood boundary (e.g.,the claim view 1550 of FIG. 15 describes a claiming process of anaddress). The address verification algorithm (e.g., using verify module3006 of FIG. 30) of the privacy server 2900 utilizes a set ofverification methods to perform verification of the particular user 2916through any of a: (1) a postcard verification method through which theprivacy server 2900 generates a physical postcard that is postal mailedto addresses of requesting users in the particular neighborhood and/orhaving a unique alphanumeric sequence in a form of an access codeprinted thereon which authenticates users that enter the access code toview and/or search privileges in the particular neighborhood of theonline community (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 ofFIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module as described inFIG. 38), (2) a credit card verification method through which theprivacy server 2900 verifies the claimable residential address (e.g.,using sub-modules of the claimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31)when at least one a credit card billing address and/or a debit cardbilling address is matched with an inputted address through anauthentication services provider, (3) a privately-published access codemethod through which the privacy server 2900 communicates to userprofiles of the police department, the municipal agency, theneighborhood association, and/or the neighborhood leader an instantaccess code that is printable at town hall meetings and/or gatheringssponsored by any one of the police department, the municipal agency, theneighborhood association, and/or the neighborhood leader, (4) a neighborvouching method through which the privacy server 2900 authenticates newusers when existing verified users (e.g., the verified user 4110 of FIG.41A) agree to a candidacy of new users in the particular neighborhood,(5) a phone verification method through which the privacy server 2900authenticates new users whose phone number is matched with an inputtedphone number through the authentication services provider, and (6) asocial security verification method through which the privacy server2900 authenticates new users whose social security number is matchedwith an inputted social security number through the authenticationservices provider.

The privacy server 2900 may initially set the particular neighborhood toa pilot phase status in which the online community (e.g., as shown inthe social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) of the particularneighborhood is provisionally defined until a minimum number of usersverify their residential addresses in the particular neighborhoodthrough the privacy server 2900. The privacy server 2900 mayautomatically delete profiles of users that remain unverified after athreshold window of time. The neighborhood communication system 2950 maybe designed to create private websites to facilitate communication amongneighbors 2928 (e.g., such as the particular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29)and/or build stronger neighborhoods.

In another embodiment a method of a neighborhood communication system2950 is described. The method includes applying an address verificationalgorithm (e.g., using verify module 3006 of FIG. 30) associated witheach user of the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38) using a privacy server 2900, verifyingthat each user lives at a residence associated with a claimableresidential address (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimable module2910 as described in FIG. 31) of an online community (e.g., as shown inthe social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) formed through asocial community module 2906 of the privacy server 2900 using aprocessor 3902 and a memory (e.g., as described in FIG. 39), generatinga latitudinal data and a longitudinal data associated with eachclaimable residential address (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimablemodule 2910 as described in FIG. 31) of the online community (e.g., asshown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) associated witheach user of the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38), and determining a set of accessprivileges in the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38) associated with each user of the onlinecommunity (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36formed through the neighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38)by constraining access in the online community (e.g., as shown in thesocial community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhoodnetwork module as described in FIG. 38) based on a neighborhood boundarydetermined using a Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of the privacy server2900.

The method may transform the claimable residential address (e.g., usingsub-modules of the claimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31) into aclaimed address upon an occurrence of an event. The method mayinstantiate the event when a particular user 2916 is associated with theclaimable residential address (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimablemodule 2910 as described in FIG. 31) based on a verification of theparticular user 2916 as living at a particular residential address(e.g., associated with the residence 2918 of FIG. 29) associated withthe claimable residential address (e.g., using sub-modules of theclaimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31) using the privacy server2900.

The method may constrain the particular user 2916 to communicate throughthe online community (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module as describedin FIG. 38) only with a set of neighbors 2928 (e.g., such as theparticular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) having verified addresses using theprivacy server 2900. The method may define the set of neighbors 2928(e.g., such as the particular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) as other usersof the online community (e.g., as shown in the social community view3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module asdescribed in FIG. 38) that have each verified their addresses in theonline community (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 ofFIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module as described inFIG. 38) using the privacy server 2900 and/or which have each claimedresidential addresses that are in a threshold radial distance from theclaimed address of the particular user 2916.

The method may constrain the threshold radial distance to be less than adistance of the neighborhood boundary using the Bezier curve algorithm3040.

In addition, the method may define a neighborhood boundary to take on avariety of shapes based on an associated geographic connotation, ahistorical connotation, a political connotation, and/or a culturalconnotation of neighborhood boundaries. The method may apply a databaseof constraints (e.g., the databases of FIG. 30 including the placesdatabase 3018) associated with neighborhood boundaries that are imposedon a map view of the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38) when permitting the neighborhoodboundary to take on the variety of shapes.

The method may generate a user-generated boundary in a form of a polygondescribing geospatial boundaries defining the particular neighborhoodwhen a first user of a particular neighborhood that verifies a firstresidential address of the particular neighborhood using the privacyserver 2900 prior to other users in that particular neighborhoodverifying their addresses in that particular neighborhood places a setof points defining the particular neighborhood using a set of drawingtools in the map view of the online community (e.g., as shown in thesocial community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhoodnetwork module as described in FIG. 38). The method may optionallyextend the threshold radial distance to an adjacent boundary of anadjacent neighborhood based a request of the particular user 2916.

The method may generate a separate login to the online community (e.g.,as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) designed to beusable by a police department, a municipal agency, a neighborhoodassociation, and/or a neighborhood leader associated with the particularneighborhood.

The method may permit the police department, the municipal agency, theneighborhood association, and/or the neighborhood leader to: (1) inviteresidents of the particular neighborhood themselves (e.g., see the userinterface view of FIG. 22) using the privacy server 2900 using aself-authenticating access code that permits new users that enter theself-authenticating access code in the online community (e.g., as shownin the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) to automaticallyjoin the particular neighborhood as verified users (e.g., the verifieduser 4110 of FIG. 41A), (2) generate a virtual neighborhood watch groupand/or an emergency preparedness group restricted to users verified inthe particular neighborhood using the privacy server 2900, (3) conducthigh value crime and/or safety related discussions from local policeand/or fire officials that is restricted to users verified in theparticular neighborhood using the privacy server 2900, (4) broadcastinformation across the particular neighborhood, and/or (5) receiveand/or track neighborhood level membership and/or activity to identifyleaders from the restricted group of users verified in the particularneighborhood using the privacy server 2900.

The method may permit each of the restricted group of users verified inthe particular neighborhood using the privacy server 2900 to: (1) shareinformation about a suspicious activity that is likely to affect severalneighborhoods, (2) explain about a lost pet that might have wanderedinto an adjoining neighborhood, (3) rally support from neighbors 2928(e.g., such as the particular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) from multipleneighborhoods to address civic issues, (4) spread information aboutevents comprising a local theater production and/or a neighborhoodgarage sale, and/or (5) solicit advice and/or recommendations from therestricted group of users verified in the particular neighborhood and/oroptionally in the adjacent neighborhood.

The method may flag a neighborhood feed from the particular neighborhoodand/or optionally from the adjacent neighborhood as being inappropriate.The method may suspend users that repeatedly communicateself-promotional messages that are inappropriate as voted based on asensibility of any one of the verified users (e.g., the verified user4110 of FIG. 41A) of the particular neighborhood and/or optionally fromthe adjacent neighborhood. The method may personalize which nearbyneighborhoods that verified users (e.g., the verified user 4110 of FIG.41A) are able to communicate through based on a request of theparticular user 2916. The method may permit the neighborhood leader tocommunicate privately with leaders of an adjoining neighborhood to planand/or organize on behalf of an entire constituency of verified users ofthe particular neighborhood associated with the neighborhood leader.

The method may filter feeds to only display messages from the particularneighborhood associated with each verified user. The method may restrictposts only in the particular neighborhood to verified users (e.g., theverified user 4110 of FIG. 41A) having verified addresses within theneighborhood boundary (e.g., the claim view 1550 of FIG. 15 describes aclaiming process of an address). The method may utilize a set ofverification methods to perform verification of the particular user 2916through: (1) generating a physical postcard that is postal mailed toaddresses of requesting users in the particular neighborhood and/orhaving a unique alphanumeric sequence in a form of an access codeprinted thereon which authenticates users that enter the access code toview and/or search privileges in the particular neighborhood of theonline community (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 ofFIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module as described inFIG. 38). (2) verifying the claimable residential address (e.g., usingsub-modules of the claimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31) whenat least one a credit card billing address and/or a debit card billingaddress is matched with an inputted address through an authenticationservices provider. (3) communicating to user profiles of the policedepartment, the municipal agency, the neighborhood association, and/orthe neighborhood leader an instant access code that is printable at townhall meetings and/or gatherings sponsored by any one of the policedepartment, the municipal agency, the neighborhood association, and/orthe neighborhood leader. (4) authenticating new users when existingverified users (e.g., the verified user 4110 of FIG. 41A) agree to acandidacy of new users in the particular neighborhood. (5)authenticating new users whose phone number is matched with an inputtedphone number through the authentication services provider. (6)authenticating new users whose social security number is matched with aninputted social security number through the authentication servicesprovider.

The method may initially set the particular neighborhood to a pilotphase status in which the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38) of the particular neighborhood isprovisionally defined until a minimum number of users verify theirresidential addresses in the particular neighborhood through the privacyserver 2900. The method may automatically delete profiles of users thatremain unverified after a threshold window of time. The neighborhoodcommunication system 2950 may be designed to create private websites tofacilitate communication among neighbors 2928 (e.g., such as theparticular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29) and/or build strongerneighborhoods.

In yet another embodiment, another neighborhood communication system2950 is described. This embodiment includes a privacy server 2900 toapply an address verification algorithm (e.g., using verify module 3006of FIG. 30) associated with each user of the online community (e.g., asshown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) to verify that eachuser lives at a residence associated with a claimable residentialaddress (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimable module 2910 asdescribed in FIG. 31) of an online community (e.g., as shown in thesocial community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhoodnetwork module as described in FIG. 38) formed through a socialcommunity module 2906 of the privacy server 2900 using a processor 3902and a memory (e.g., as described in FIG. 39), a network 2904, and amapping server 2926 (e.g., providing global map data) communicativelycoupled with the privacy server 2900 through the network 2904 togenerate a latitudinal data and a longitudinal data associated with eachclaimable residential address (e.g., using sub-modules of the claimablemodule 2910 as described in FIG. 31) of the online community (e.g., asshown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) associated witheach user of the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38). The privacy server 2900 automaticallydetermines a set of access privileges in the online community (e.g., asshown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through theneighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) associated witheach user of the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38) by constraining access in the onlinecommunity (e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36formed through the neighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38)based on a neighborhood boundary determined using a Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of the privacy server 2900 in this embodiment.

In addition, in this yet another embodiment the privacy server 2900transforms the claimable residential address (e.g., using sub-modules ofthe claimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31) into a claimedaddress upon an occurrence of an event. The privacy server 2900instantiates the event when a particular user 2916 is associated withthe claimable residential address (e.g., using sub-modules of theclaimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31) based on a verificationof the particular user 2916 as living at a particular residentialaddress (e.g., associated with the residence 2918 of FIG. 29) associatedwith the claimable residential address (e.g., using sub-modules of theclaimable module 2910 as described in FIG. 31) using the privacy server2900 in this yet another embodiment. The privacy server 2900 constrainsthe particular user 2916 to communicate through the online community(e.g., as shown in the social community view 3650 of FIG. 36 formedthrough the neighborhood network module as described in FIG. 38) onlywith a set of neighbors 2928 (e.g., such as the particular neighbor 2920of FIG. 29) having verified addresses using the privacy server 2900 inthis yet another embodiment. The privacy server 2900 defines the set ofneighbors 2928 (e.g., such as the particular neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29)as other users of the online community (e.g., as shown in the socialcommunity view 3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood networkmodule as described in FIG. 38) that have each verified their addressesin the online community (e.g., as shown in the social community view3650 of FIG. 36 formed through the neighborhood network module asdescribed in FIG. 38) using the privacy server 2900 and which have eachclaimed residential addresses that are in a threshold radial distancefrom the claimed address of the particular user 2916 in this yet anotherembodiment.

FIG. 29 is a system view of a privacy server 2900 communicating withneighborhood(s) 2902A-N through a network 2904, an advertiser(s) 2924, amapping server 2926, an a database of neighbors 2928 (e.g., occupantdata), according to one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 29 illustrates theprivacy server 2900, the neighborhood 2902A-N, the network 2904,advertiser(s) 2924, mapping server 2926, and the a database of neighbors2928 (e.g., occupant data), according to one embodiment. The privacyserver 2900 may contain a social community module 2906, a search module2908, a claimable module 2910, a commerce module 2912 and a map module2914. The neighborhood may include a user 2916, a community center 2920,a residence 2918, a neighbor 2920 and a business 2922, according to oneembodiment.

The privacy server 2900 may include any number of neighborhoods havingregistered users and/or unregistered users. The neighborhood(s) 2902 maybe a geographically localized community in a larger city, town, and/orsuburb. The network 2904 may be search engines, blogs, social networks,professional networks and static website that may unite individuals,groups and/or community. The social community module 2906 may generate abuilding creator in which the registered users may create and/or modifyempty claimable profiles (e.g., a claimable profile 4006 of FIG.40A-12B, a claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A, a claimable profile 1704of FIG. 17). The search module 2908 may include searching of informationof an individual, group and/or community.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30), as a function/module of the emergency responseserver, may determine the location of the user 2916, the distancebetween the user 2916 and other verified users (e.g., the verified user4110 of FIG. 41A), and the distance between the user 2916 and locationsof interest. With that information, the social community module 2906(e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using aseries of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) mayfurther determine which verified users (e.g., the verified user 4110 ofFIG. 41A) are within a predetermined vicinity of a user 2916. This setof verified users within the vicinity of another verified user may thenbe determined to be receptive to broadcasts transmitted by the user 2916and to be available as transmitters of broadcasts to the user 2916.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) in effect may create a link between verifiedusers of the network 2904 that allows the users to communicate with eachother, and this link may be based on the physical distance between theusers as measured relative to a current geospatial location of thedevice (e.g., the device 1806, the device 1808 of FIG. 18) with aclaimed and verified (e.g., through a verification mechanism such as apostcard verification, a utility bill verification, and/or a vouching ofthe user with other users) non-transitory location (e.g., a homelocation, a work location) of the user and/or other users. In analternate embodiment, the transitory location of the user (e.g., theircurrent location, a current location of their vehicle and/or mobilephone) and/or the other users may also be used by the radial algorithm(e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30) to determine anappropriate threshold distance for broadcasting a message.

Furthermore, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules workingin concert as described in FIG. 30) may automatically update a set ofpages associated with profiles of individuals and/or businesses thathave not yet joined the network based on preseeded address information.In effect, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules workingin concert as described in FIG. 30) may update preseeded pages in ageo-constrained radial distance from where a broadcast originates (e.g.,using an epicenter calculated from the current location of the device(e.g., the device 1806, the device 1808 of FIG. 18) (e.g., a mobileversion of the device 1806 of FIG. 18 (e.g., a mobile phone, a tabletcomputer) with information about the neighborhood broadcast data. Ineffect, through this methodology, the social community module 2906(e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using aseries of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) may leave‘inboxes’ and/or post ‘alerts’ on pages created for users that have notyet signed up based on a confirmed address of the users through a publicand/or a private data source (e.g., from Infogroup®, from a white pagedirectory, etc.).

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) of the privacy server 2900 may be differentfrom previous implementations because it is the first implementation tosimulate the experience of local radio transmission between individualsusing the internet and non-radio network technology by basing theirnetwork broadcast range on the proximity of verified users to oneanother, according to one embodiment.

The Bezier curve algorithm 3040 may operate as follows, according to oneembodiment. The radial algorithm (e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040of FIG. 30) may utilize a radial distribution function (e.g., a paircorrelation function)

g(r)

In the neighborhood communication system 2950. The radial distributionfunction may describe how density varies as a function of distance froma user 2916, according to one embodiment.

If a given user 2916 is taken to be at the origin O (e.g., theepicenter), and if

ρ=N/V

is the average number density of recipients (e.g., other users of theneighborhood communication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG.29) in the neighborhood communication system 2950, then the localtime-averaged density at a distance r from O is

ρg(r)

according to one embodiment. This simplified definition may hold for ahomogeneous and isotropic type of recipients (e.g., other users of theneighborhood communication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG.29), according to one embodiment of the Bezier curve algorithm 3040.

A more anisotropic distribution (e.g., exhibiting properties withdifferent values when measured in different directions) of therecipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhood communication system2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) will be described below,according to one embodiment of the Bezier curve algorithm 3040. Insimplest terms it may be a measure of the probability of finding arecipient at a distance of r away from a given user 2916, relative tothat for an ideal distribution scenario, according to one embodiment.The anisotropic algorithm involves determining how many recipients(e.g., other users of the neighborhood communication system 2950 such asneighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) are within a distance of r and r+dr away fromthe user 2916, according to one embodiment. The Bezier curve algorithm3040 may be determined by calculating the distance between all userpairs and binning them into a user histogram, according to oneembodiment.

The histogram may then be normalized with respect to an ideal user atthe origin o, where user histograms are completely uncorrelated,according to one embodiment. For three dimensions (e.g., such as abuilding representation in the privacy server 2900 in which there aremultiple residents in each floor), this normalization may be the numberdensity of the system multiplied by the volume of the spherical shell,which mathematically can be expressed as

g(r)₁=4πr ² ρdr,

where ρ may be the user density, according to one embodiment of theBezier curve algorithm 3040.

The radial distribution function of the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 canbe computed either via computer simulation methods like the Monte Carlomethod, or via the Ornstein-Zernike equation, using approximativeclosure relations like the Percus-Yevick approximation or theHypernetted Chain Theory, according to one embodiment.

This may be important because by confining the broadcast reach of averified user in the neighborhood communication system 2950 to aspecified range, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that appliesthe Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modulesworking in concert as described in FIG. 30) may replicate the experienceof local radio broadcasting and enable verified users to communicateinformation to their immediate neighbors as well as receive informationfrom their immediate neighbors in areas that they care about, accordingto one embodiment. Such methodologies can be complemented withhyperlocal advertising targeted to potential users of the privacy server2900 on preseeded profile pages and/or active user pages of the privacyserver 2900. Advertisement communications thus may become highlyspecialized and localized resulting in an increase in their value andinterest to the local verified users of the network through the privacyserver 2900. For example, advertisers may wish to communicate helpfulhome security devices to a set of users located in a geospatial areawith a high concentration of home break-in broadcasts.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may also have wide application as it may solvethe problem of trying to locate a receptive audience to a verifieduser's broadcasts, whether that broadcast may a personal emergency, anone's personal music, an advertisement for a car for sale, asolicitation for a new employee, and/or a recommendation for a goodrestaurant in the area. This social community module 2906 (e.g., thatapplies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series ofmodules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) may eliminateunnecessarily broadcasting that information to those who are notreceptive to it, both as a transmitter and as a recipient of thebroadcast. The radial algorithm (e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040of FIG. 30) saves both time (which may be critical and limited in anemergency context) and effort of every user involved by transmittinginformation only to areas that a user cares about, according to oneembodiment.

In effect, the radial algorithm (e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040of FIG. 30) of the emergency response server enables users to notifypeople around locations that are cared about (e.g., around where theylive, work, and/or where they are physically located). In oneembodiment, the user 2916 can be provided ‘feedback’ and/or acommunication that the neighbor 2928 may be responding to the emergencyafter the neighborhood broadcast data may be delivered to the recipients(e.g., other users of the neighborhood communication system 2950 such asneighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) and/or to the neighborhood services using thesocial community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) of the privacy server 2900. For example, afterthe neighborhood broadcast data may be delivered, the device (e.g., thedevice 1806, the device 1808 of FIG. 18) (e.g., a mobile version of thedevice 1806 of FIG. 18 (e.g., a mobile phone, a tablet computer)) maydisplay a message saying: “3256 neighbors around a 1 radius from youhave been notified on their profile pages of your crime broadcast inMenlo Park and 4 people are responding” and/or “8356 neighbors and twohospitals around a 2.7 radius from you have been notified of yourmedical emergency.”

The various embodiments described herein of the privacy server 2900using the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Beziercurve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working inconcert as described in FIG. 30) may solve a central problem of internetradio service providers (e.g., Pandora) by retaining culturalsignificance related to a person's locations of association. Forexample, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Beziercurve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working inconcert as described in FIG. 30) may be used to ‘create’ new radiostations, television stations, and/or mini alert broadcasts to ageospatially constrained area on one end, and provide a means for those‘tuning in’ to consume information posted in a geospatial area that thelistener cares about and/or associates themselves with. The informationprovided can be actionable in that the user 2916 may be able to securenew opportunities through face to face human interaction and physicalmeeting not otherwise possible in internet radio scenarios.

The radial algorithm (e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30)may be a set of instructions that may enable users (e.g., verifiedusers, non-verified users) of the Nextdoor.com and Fatdoor.com websitesand applications to broadcast their activities (e.g., garage sale,t-shirt sale, crime alert) to surrounding neighbors within a claimedneighborhood and to guests of a claimed neighborhood, according to oneembodiment. The radial algorithm (e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040of FIG. 30) may be new because current technology does not allow forusers of a network (e.g., Nextdoor.com, Fatdoor.com) to locallybroadcast their activity to a locally defined geospatial area. With theradial algorithm (e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30),users of the network may communicate with one another in a locallydefined manner, which may present more relevant information andactivities, according to one embodiment. For example, if a verified userof the network broadcasts an emergency, locally defined neighbors of theverified user may be much more interested in responding than if theyobserved an emergency on a general news broadcast on traditional radio,according to one embodiment. The social community module 2906 may solvethe problem of neighbors living in the locally defined geospatial areawho don't typically interact, and allows them to connect within avirtual space that did not exist before, according to one embodiment.Community boards (e.g., stolen or missing item boards) may have been aprimary method of distributing content in a surrounding neighborhoodeffectively prior to the disclosures described herein. However, therewas no way to easily distribute content related to exigent circumstancesand/or with urgency in a broadcast-like manner to those listening arounda neighborhood through mobile devices until the various embodimentsapplying the social community module 2906 as described herein.

A Bezier curve algorithm 3040 may be a method of calculating a sequenceof operations, and in this case a sequence of radio operations,according to one embodiment. Starting from an initial state and initialinput, the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 describes a computation that,when executed, proceeds through a finite number of well-definedsuccessive states, eventually producing radial patterned distribution(e.g., simulating a local radio station), according to one embodiment.

The privacy server 2900 may solve technical challenges through thesocial community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) by implementing a vigorous screening process toscreen out any lewd or vulgar content in one embodiment. For example,what may be considered lewd content sometimes could be subjective, andverified users could argue that the operator of the privacy server 2900is restricting their constitutional right to freedom of speech (e.g., ifthe emergency response server is operated by a government entity)through a crowd-moderation capability enabled by the social communitymodule 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG.30 using a series of modules working in concert as described in FIG.30), according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, verified users maysign an electronic agreement to screen their content and agree that theneighborhood communication system 2950 may delete any content that itdeems inappropriate for broadcasting, through the social communitymodule 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG.30 using a series of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30)according to one embodiment. For example, it may be determined that alost item such as a misplaced set of car keys does not qualify as an“emergency” that should be broadcast.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30), in addition to neighborhood broadcasts (e.g.,such as emergency broadcasts), may allow verified users to create andbroadcast their own radio show, e.g., music, talk show, commercial,instructional contents, etc., and to choose their neighborhood(s) forbroadcasting based on a claimed location, according to one embodiment.The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may allow users to choose the neighborhoodsthat they would want to receive the broadcasts, live and recordedbroadcasts, and/or the types and topics (e.g., minor crimes, propertycrimes, medical emergencies) of broadcasts that interest them.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) based approach of the privacy server 2900 maybe a completely different concept from the currently existingneighborhood (e.g., geospatial) social networking options. The socialcommunity module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concert asdescribed in FIG. 30) may also allow the user to create his/her ownradio station, television station and/or other content such as theneighborhood broadcast data and distribute this content around locationsto users and preseeded profiles around them. For example, the user maywish to broadcast their live reporting of a structure fire or intervieweye-witnesses to a robbery. The social community module 2906 (e.g., thatapplies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series ofmodules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) can allow verifiedusers to create their content and broadcast in the selected geospatialarea. It also allows verified listeners to listen to only the relevantlocal broadcasts of their choice.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may be important because it may provide anyverified user the opportunity to create his/her own radial broadcastmessage (e.g., can be audio, video, pictorial and/or textual content)and distribute this content to a broad group. Social community module2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30using a series of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30)may also allow verified listeners to listen to any missed livebroadcasts through the prerecorded features, according to oneembodiment. Through this, the social community module 2906 (e.g., thatapplies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series ofmodules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) changes the waysocial networks (e.g., Nextdoor®, Fatdoor®, Facebook®, Path®, etc.)operate by enabling location centric broadcasting to regions that a usercares about, according to one embodiment. Social community module 2906(e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using aseries of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) may solvea technical challenge by defining ranges based on a type of an emergencytype, a type of neighborhood, and/or boundary condition of aneighborhood by analyzing whether the neighborhood broadcast data may beassociated with a particular kind of recipient, a particularneighborhood, a temporal limitation, and/or through another criteria.

By using the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Beziercurve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working inconcert as described in FIG. 30) of the privacy server 2900 the user2916 may be able to filter irrelevant offers and information provided bybroadcasts. In one embodiment, only the broadcasting user (e.g., theuser 2916) may be a verified user to create accountability for aparticular broadcast and/or credibility of the broadcaster. In thisembodiment, recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhoodcommunication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) of thebroadcast may not need to be verified users of the emergency responsenetwork. By directing traffic and organizing the onslaught ofbroadcasts, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules workingin concert as described in FIG. 30) of the privacy server 2900 may beable to identify the origins and nature of each group of incominginformation and locate recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhoodcommunication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) that arerelevant/interested in the neighborhood broadcast data, maximizing theeffective use of each broadcast. For example, the neighbor 2928 may beable to specify that they own a firearm so that they would be a relevantneighbor 2928 for broadcast data to respond to a school shooting. Inanother example, a neighbor 2928 may specify that they are a medicalprofessional (e.g., paramedic, physician) such that they may receivemedical emergency broadcasts, according to one embodiment.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) of the privacy server 2900 may process theinput data from the device (e.g., the device 1806, the device 1808 ofFIG. 18) (e.g., a mobile version of the device 1806 of FIG. 18 (e.g., amobile phone, a tablet computer)) in order to identify whichnotification(s) to broadcast to which individual(s). This may beseparate from a traditional radio broadcast as it not onlygeographically constrains broadcasters and recipients (e.g., other usersof the neighborhood communication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 ofFIG. 29) but also makes use of user preferences in order to allowbroadcasters to target an optimal audience and allow recipients (e.g.,other users of the neighborhood communication system 2950 such asneighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) to alter and customize what they consume. Theuser 2916 may associate him/herself with a non-transitory address inorder to remain constantly connected to their neighborhood and/orneighbors even when they themselves or their neighbors are away. TheBezier curve algorithm 3040 may be also unique from a neighborhoodsocial network (e.g., the privacy server 2900) as it permits users tobroadcast emergencies, information, audio, video etc. to other users,allowing users to create their own stations.

In order to implement the social community module 2906 (e.g., thatapplies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series ofmodules working in concert as described in FIG. 30), geospatial data mayneed to be collected and amassed in order to create a foundation onwhich users may sign up and verify themselves by claiming a specificaddress, associating themselves with that geospatial location. Thesocial community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may then be able to utilize the geospatialdatabase 2922 to filter out surrounding noise and deliver only relevantdata to recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhood communicationsystem 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29). In order to accomplishthis, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Beziercurve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working inconcert as described in FIG. 30) may be able to verify the reliabilityof geospatial coordinates, time stamps, and user information associatedwith the device (e.g., the device 1806, the device 1808 of FIG. 18)(e.g., a a mobile version of the device 1806 of FIG. 18 (e.g., a mobilephone, a tablet computer)). In addition, threshold geospatial radii,private neighborhood boundaries, and personal preferences may beestablished in the privacy server 2900 and accommodated using the socialcommunity module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concert asdescribed in FIG. 30). The geospatial database 2922 may work in concertwith the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Beziercurve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working inconcert as described in FIG. 30) to store, organize, and managebroadcasts, pushpins, user profiles, preseeded user profiles, metadata,and epicenter locations associated with the privacy server 2900 (e.g., aneighborhood social network such as Fatdoor.com, Nextdoor.com).

The Bezier curve algorithm 3040 may be used to calculate relativedistances between each one of millions of records as associated witheach placed geo-spatial coordinate in the privacy server 2900 (e.g., aneighborhood social network such as Fatdoor.com, Nextdoor.com).Calculations of relative distance between each geospatial coordinate canbe a large computational challenge because of the high number of reads,writes, modify, and creates associated with each geospatial coordinateadded to the privacy server 2900 and subsequent recalculations ofsurrounding geospatial coordinates associated with other users and/orother profile pages based a relative distance away from a newly addedset of geospatial coordinates (e.g., associated with the neighborhoodbroadcast data and/or with other pushpin types). To overcome thiscomputational challenge, the radial algorithm (e.g., the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30) may leverage a massively parallel computingarchitecture 146 through which processing functions are distributedacross a large set of processors accessed in a distributed computingsystem 148 through the network 2904.

In order to achieve the utilization of the massively parallel computingarchitecture 146 in a context of a radial distribution function of aprivacy server 2900, a number of technical challenges have been overcomein at least one embodiment. Particularly, the social community module2906 constructs a series of tables based on an ordered geospatialranking based on frequency of interaction through a set of ‘n’ number ofusers simultaneously interacting with the privacy server 2900, in onepreferred embodiment. In this manner, sessions of access between theprivacy server 2900 and users of the privacy server 2900 (e.g., the user2916) may be monitored based on geospatial claimed areas of the user(e.g., a claimed work and/or home location of the user), and/or apresent geospatial location of the user. In this manner, tablesassociated with data related to claimed geospatial areas of the userand/or the present geospatial location of the user may be anticipatorilycached in the memory 2924 to ensure that a response time of the privacyserver 2900 may be not constrained by delays caused by extraction,retrieval, and transformation of tables that are not likely to berequired for a current and/or anticipated set of sessions between usersand the privacy server 2900.

In a preferred embodiment, an elastic computing environment may be usedby the social community module 2906 to provide for increase/decreases ofcapacity within minutes of a database function requirement. In thismanner, the social community module 2906 can adapt to workload changesbased on number of requests of processing simultaneous and/or concurrentrequests associated with neighborhood broadcast data by provisioning andde-provisioning resources in an autonomic manner, such that at eachpoint in time the available resources match the current demand asclosely as possible.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may be a concept whereby a server communicatingdata to a dispersed group of recipients (e.g., other users of theneighborhood communication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG.29) over a network 2904, which may be an internet protocol based widearea network (as opposed to a network communicating by radio frequencycommunications) communicates that data only to ageospatially-constrained group of recipients (e.g., other users of theneighborhood communication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG.29). The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Beziercurve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working inconcert as described in FIG. 30) may apply a geospatial constraintrelated to a radial distance away from an origin point, or a constraintrelated to regional, state, territory, county, municipal, neighborhood,building, community, district, locality, and/or other geospatialboundaries.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may be new as applied to data traveling overwide area networks using internet protocol topology in a geospatialsocial networking and commerce context, according to one embodiment.While radio broadcasts, by their nature, are transmitted in a radialpattern surrounding the origin point, there may be no known mechanismfor restricting access to the data only to verified users of a servicesubscribing to the broadcast. As applied to wired computer networks,while techniques for applying geospatial constraints have been appliedto search results, and to other limited uses, there has as yet been noapplication of geospatial constraint as applied to the variousembodiments described herein using the social community module 2906(e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using aseries of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30).

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may be roughly analogous to broadcast radiocommunications such as a) in broadcast radio, b) in wireless computernetworking, and c) in mobile telephony. However, all of these systemsbroadcast their information promiscuously, making the data transmittedavailable to anyone within range of the transmitter who may be equippedwith the appropriate receiving device. In contrast, the social communitymodule 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG.30 using a series of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30)herein describes a system in which networks are used to transmit data ina selective manner in that information may be distributed around aphysical location of homes or businesses in areas of interest/relevancy.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may solve a problem of restricting datatransmitted over networks to specific users who are within a specifieddistance from the individual who originates the data. In a broad sense,by enabling commerce and communications that are strictly limited withindefined neighborhood boundaries, the social community module 2906 (e.g.,that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a seriesof modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) may enable theprivacy server 2900 (e.g., a neighborhood social network such asFatdoor.com, Nextdoor.com) communications, attacking the serious socialconditions of anonymity and disengagement in community that afflict thenation and, increasingly, the world.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may comprise one or more modules that instructthe privacy server 2900 to restrict the broadcasting of the neighborhoodbroadcast data to one or more parts of the geospatial area 117. Forexample, in the embodiment of FIG. 29, the social community module 2906(e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using aseries of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) mayinstruct the privacy server 2900 to broadcast the neighborhood broadcastdata to the recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhoodcommunication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) but not tothe area outside the threshold radial distance 115.

In one or more embodiments, the social community module 2906 (e.g., thatapplies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series ofmodules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) may allow theprivacy server 2900 to function in manner that simulates a traditionalradio broadcast (e.g., using a radio tower to transmit a radio frequencysignal) in that both the privacy server 2900 and the radio broadcast arerestricted in the geospatial scope of the broadcast transmission. In oneor more embodiments, the social community module 2906 (e.g., thatapplies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series ofmodules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) may prevent thebroadcast of the neighborhood broadcast data to any geospatial area towhich the user 2916 does not wish to transmit the neighborhood broadcastdata, and/or to users that have either muted and/or selectivelysubscribed to a set of broadcast feeds.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may analyze the neighborhood broadcast data todetermine which recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhoodcommunication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) may receivenotification data within the threshold radial distance (e.g., set by theuser 2916 and/or auto calculated based on a type of emergency posting).The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may use a variety of parameters, includinginformation associated with the neighborhood broadcast data (e.g.,location of the broadcast, type of broadcast, etc.) to determine thethreshold radial distance.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may also determine which verified addressesassociated with recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhoodcommunication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) havingverified user profiles are located within the threshold radial distance.The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may then broadcast the notification data to theprofiles and/or mobile devices of the verified users having verifiedaddresses within the threshold radial distance.

The social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may therefore simulate traditional radiobroadcasting (e.g., from a radio station transmission tower) over the IPnetwork. Thus, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules workingin concert as described in FIG. 30) may allow the broadcast to includeinformation and data that traditional radio broadcasts may not be ableto convey, for example geospatial coordinates and/or real-timebi-directional communications. Additionally, the social community module2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30using a series of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30)may allow individual users low-entry broadcast capability without resortto expensive equipment and/or licensing by the Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC).

Another advantage of this broadcast via the social community module 2906(e.g., that applies the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using aseries of modules working in concert as described in FIG. 30) may bethat it may bypass obstructions that traditionally disrupt radio wavessuch as mountains and/or atmospheric disturbances. Yet another advantageof the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules working in concertas described in FIG. 30) may be that it may expand the physical distanceof broadcast capability without resort to the expense ordinarilyassociated with generating powerful carrier signals. In yet anotheradvantage, the social community module 2906 (e.g., that applies theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 using a series of modules workingin concert as described in FIG. 30) may allow for almost unlimitedchannels and/or stations as compared to traditional radio where only anarrow band of electromagnetic radiation has been appropriated for useamong a small number of entities by government regulators (e.g., theFCC).

The claimable module 2910 may enable the registered users to createand/or update their information. A ‘claimable’ (e.g., may be enabledthrough the claimable module 2910) can be defined as a perpetualcollective work of many authors. Similar to a blog in structure andlogic, a claimable allows anyone to edit, delete or modify content thathas been placed on the Web site using a browser interface, including thework of previous authors. In contrast, a blog (e.g., or a social networkpage), typically authored by an individual, may not allow visitors tochange the original posted material, only add comments to the originalcontent. The term claimable refers to either the web site or thesoftware used to create the site. The term ‘claimable’ also implies fastcreation, ease of creation, and community approval in many softwarecontexts (e.g., claimable means “quick” in Hawaiian).

The commerce module 2912 may provide an advertisement system to abusiness that may enable the users to purchase location in theneighborhood(s) 2902. The map module 2914 may be indulged in study,practice, representing and/or generating maps, or globes. The user 2916may be an individuals and/or households that may purchase and/or usegoods and services and/or be an active member of any group or communityand/or resident and/or a part of any neighborhood(s) 2902. The residence2918 may be a house, a place to live and/or like a nursing home in aneighborhood(s) 2902.

The community center 2920 may be public locations where members of acommunity may gather for group activities, social support, publicinformation, and other purposes. The business 2922 may be a customerservice, finance, sales, production, communications/public relationsand/or marketing organization that may be located in the neighborhood(s)2902. The advertiser(s) 2924 may be an individual and/or a firm drawingpublic who may be responsible in encouraging the people attention togoods and/or services by promoting businesses, and/or may performthrough a variety of media. The mapping server 2926 may contain thedetails/maps of any area, region and/or neighborhood. The socialcommunity module 2906 of the privacy server 2900 may communicate withthe neighborhood(s) 2902 through the network 2904 and/or the searchmodule 2908. The social community module 2906 of the privacy server 2900may communicate with the advertiser(s) 2924 through the commerce module,the database of neighbors 2928 (e.g., occupant data) and/or mappingserver 2926 through the map module 2914.

For example, the neighborhoods 2902A-N may have registered users and/orunregistered users of a privacy server 2900. Also, the social communitymodule 2906 of the privacy server 2900 may generate a building creator(e.g., building builder 1602 of FIG. 16) in which the registered usersmay create and/or modify empty claimable profiles, building layouts,social network pages, and/or floor levels structures housing residentsand/or businesses in the neighborhood.

In addition, the claimable module 2910 of the privacy server 2900 mayenable the registered users to create a social network page ofthemselves, and/or may edit information associated with the unregisteredusers identifiable through a viewing of physical properties in which,the unregistered users reside when the registered users have knowledgeof characteristics associated with the unregistered users.

Furthermore, the search module 2908 of the privacy server 2900 mayenable a people search (e.g., the people search widget 300 of FIG. 31),a business search (e.g., the business search module 31102 of FIG. 31),and/or a category search (e.g., the category search widget 31104 of FIG.31) of any data in the social community module 2906 and/or may enableembedding of any content in the privacy server 2900 in other searchengines, blogs, social networks, professional networks and/or staticwebsites.

The commerce module 2912 of the privacy server 2900 may provide anadvertisement system to a business who purchase their location in theprivacy server 2900 in which the advertisement may be viewableconcurrently with a map indicating a location of the business, and/or inwhich revenue may be attributed to the privacy server 2900 when theregistered users and/or the unregistered users click-in on asimultaneously displayed data of the advertisement along with the mapindicating a location of the business.

Moreover, a map module 2914 of the privacy server 2900 may include a mapdata associated with a satellite data (e.g., generated by the satellitedata module 3400 of FIG. 34) which may serve as a basis of rendering themap in the privacy server 2900 and/or which includes a simplified mapgenerator which may transform the map to a fewer color and/or locationcomplex form using a parcel data which identifies some residence, civic,and/or business locations in the satellite data.

In addition, a first instruction set may enable a social network toreside above a map data, in which the social network may be associatedwith specific geographical locations identifiable in the map data. Also,a second instruction set integrated with the first instruction set mayenable users of the social network to create profiles of other peoplethrough a forum which provides a free form of expression of the userssharing information about any entities and/or people residing in anygeographical location identifiable in the satellite map data, and/or toprovide a technique of each of the users to claim a geographic location(e.g., a geographic location 29024 of FIG. 40A) to control content intheir respective claimed geographic locations (e.g., a geographiclocation 29024 of FIG. 40A).

Furthermore, a third instruction set integrated with the firstinstruction set and the second instruction set may enable searching ofpeople in the privacy server 2900 by indexing each of the data shared bythe user 2916 of any of the people and/or the entities residing in anygeographic location (e.g., a geographic location 29024 of FIG. 40A). Afourth instruction set may provide a moderation of content about eachother posted of the users 2916 through trusted users of the privacyserver 2900 who have an ability to ban specific users and/or delete anyoffensive and libelous content in the privacy server 2900.

Also, a fifth instruction set may enable an insertion of any contentgenerated in the privacy server 2900 in other search engines through asyndication and/or advertising relationship between the privacy server2900 and/or other internet commerce and search portals.

Moreover, a sixth instruction set may grow the social network throughneighborhood groups, local politicians, block watch communities, issueactivism groups, and neighbor(s) 2920 who invite other known partiesand/or members to share profiles of themselves and/or learncharacteristics and information about other supporters and/or residentsin a geographic area of interest through the privacy server 2900.

Also, a seventh instruction set may determine quantify an effect on atleast one of a desirability of a location, a popularity of a location,and a market value of a location based on an algorithm that considers anumber of demographic and social characteristics of a region surroundingthe location through a reviews module.

FIG. 30 is an exploded view of the social community module 2906 of FIG.29, according to one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 30 illustrates abuilding builder module 3000, an N^(th) degree module 3002, a taggingmodule 3004, a verify module 3006, a groups generator module 3008, apushpin module 3010, a profile module 3012, an announce module 3014, apeople database 3016, a places database 3018, a business database 3020,a friend finder module 3022 and a neighbor-neighbor help module 3024,according to one embodiment.

The N^(th) degree module 3002 may enable the particular registered userto communicate with an unknown registered user through a commonregistered user who may be a friend and/or a member of a commoncommunity. The tagging module 3004 may enable the user 2916 to leavebrief comments on each of the claimable profiles (e.g., the claimableprofile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A,the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) and social network pages in theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29).

The verify module 3006 may validate the data, profiles and/or emailaddresses received from various registered user(s) before any changesmay be included. The groups generator module 3008 may enable theregistered users to form groups may be depending on common interest,culture, style, hobbies and/or caste. The pushpin module 3010 maygenerate customized indicators of different types of users, locations,and interests directly in the map. The profile module 3012 may enablethe user to create a set of profiles of the registered users and tosubmit media content of themselves, identifiable through a map.

The announce module 3014 may distribute a message in a specified rangeof distance away from the registered users when a registered userpurchases a message to communicate to certain ones of the registeredusers surrounding a geographic vicinity adjacent to the particularregistered user originating the message. The people database 3016 maykeep records of the visitor/users (e.g., a user 2916 of FIG. 29). Theplaces database module 3018 may manage the data related to the locationof the user (e.g., address of the registered user). The businessdatabase 3020 may manage an extensive list of leading informationrelated to business. The friend finder module 3022 may match the profileof the registered user with common interest and/or help the registereduser to get in touch with new friends or acquaintances.

For example, the verify module 3006 of the social community module 2906of FIG. 29 may authenticate an email address of a registered user priorto enabling the registered user to edit information associated with theunregistered users through an email response and/or a digital signaturetechnique. The groups generator module 3008 of the social communitymodule (e.g., the social community module 2906 of FIG. 29) may enablethe registered users to form groups with each other surrounding at leastone of a common neighborhood (e.g., a neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG. 29),political, cultural, educational, professional and/or social interest.

In addition, the tagging module 3004 of the social community module(e.g., the social community module 2906 of FIG. 29) may enable theregistered users and/or the unregistered users to leave brief commentson each of the claimable profiles (e.g., the claimable profile 4006 ofFIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A, the claimableprofile 1704 of FIG. 17) and/or social network pages in the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29), inwhich the brief comments may be simultaneously displayed when a pointingdevice rolls over a pushpin indicating a physical property associatedwith any of the registered users and/or the unregistered users. Also,the pushpin module 3010 of the social community module 2906 of FIG. 29may be generating customized indicators of different types of users,locations, and/or interests directly in the map.

Further, the announce module 3014 of the social community module 2906 ofFIG. 29 may distribute a message in a specified range of distance awayfrom the registered users when a registered user purchases a message tocommunicate to certain ones of the registered users surrounding ageographic vicinity adjacent to the particular registered useroriginating the message, wherein the particular registered userpurchases the message through a governmental currency and/or a number oftokens collected by the particular user (e.g. the user 2916 of FIG. 29)through a creation of content in the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

In addition, the N^(th) degree module 3002 of the social communitymodule 2906 of FIG. 29 may enable the particular registered user tocommunicate with an unknown registered user through a common registereduser known by the particular registered user and/or the unknownregistered user that is an N^(th) degree of separation away from theparticular registered user and/or the unknown registered user.

Moreover, the profile module 3012 of the social community module 2906 ofFIG. 29 may create a set of profiles of each one of the registered usersand to enable each one of the registered users to submit media contentof themselves, other registered users, and unregistered usersidentifiable through the map.

FIG. 31 is an exploded view of the search module 2908 of FIG. 29,according to one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 31 illustrates a peoplesearch widget 3100, a business search module 3102, a category searchwidget 3104, a communication module 3106, a directory assistance module3108, an embedding module 3110, a no-match module 3112, a range selectormodule 3114, a chat widget 3116, a group announcement widget 3118, aVoice Over IP widget 3120, according to one embodiment.

The people search widget 3100 may help in getting the information likethe address, phone number and/or e-mail id of the people of particularinterest from a group and/or community. The business search module 3102may help the users (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) to find thecompanies, products, services, and/or business related information theyneed to know about.

The category search widget 3104 may narrow down searches from a broaderscope (e.g., if one is interested in information from a particularcenter, one can go to the category under the center and enter one'squery there and it will return results from that particular categoryonly). The communication module 3106 may provide/facilitate multiple bywhich one can communicate, people to communicate with, and subjects tocommunicate about among different members of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

The directory assistance module 3108 may provide voice responseassistance to users (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) assessable througha web and telephony interface of any category, business and searchqueries of user's of any search engine contents. The embedding module3110 may automatically extract address and/or contact info from othersocial networks, search engines, and content providers.

The no-match module 3112 may request additional information from averified registered user (e.g., a verified registered user 4110 of FIG.41A-B, a verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) about a person,place, and business having no listing in the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) when no matchesare found in a search query of the verified registered user (e.g., averified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, a verified registered user4110 of FIG. 16).

The chat widget 3116 may provide people to chat online, which is a wayof communicating by broadcasting messages to people on the same site inreal time. The group announcement widget 3118 may communicate with agroup and/or community in may be by Usenet, Mailing list, calling and/orE-mail message sent to notify subscribers. The Voice over IP widget 3120may help in routing of voice conversations over the Internet and/orthrough any other IP-based network. The communication module 3106 maycommunicate directly with the people search widget 3100, the businesssearch module 3102, the category search widget 3104, the directoryassistance module 3108, the embedding module 3110 may communicate withthe no-match module 3112 through the range selector module 3114.

For example, a search module 2908 of the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) may enable the people search,the business search, and the category search of any data in the socialcommunity module (e.g., the social community module 2906 of FIG. 29)and/or may enable embedding of any content in the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) in other searchengines, blogs, social networks, professional networks and/or staticwebsites.

In addition, the communicate module 31106 of the search module 2906 mayenable voice over internet, live chat, and/or group announcementfunctionality in the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29) among different members of the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

Also, the directory assistance module 3108 of the search module 2908 mayprovide voice response assistance to users (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG.29) assessable through a web and/or telephony interface of any category,business, community, and residence search queries of users (e.g., theuser 2916 of FIG. 29) of any search engine embedding content of theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29).

The embedding module 3110 of the search module 2908 may automaticallyextract address and/or contact info from other social networks, searchengines, and content providers, and/or to enable automatic extraction ofgroup lists from contact databases of instant messaging platforms.

Furthermore, the no-match module 3112 of the search module 2908 torequest additional information from the verified registered user (e.g.,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B) about a person, place,and/or business having no listing in the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) when no matches are found ina search query of the verified registered user (e.g., the verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 16) and to create a new claimable page based on a response of theverified registered user (e.g., the verified registered user 4110 ofFIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) about the atleast one person, place, and/or business not previously indexed in theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29).

FIG. 32 is an exploded view of the claimable module 2910 of FIG. 29,according to one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 32 illustrates auser-place claimable module 3200, a user-user claimable module 3202, auser-neighbor claimable module 3204, a user-business claimable module3206, a reviews module 3208, a defamation prevention module 3210, aclaimable-social network conversion module 3212, a claim module 3214, adata segment module 3216, a dispute resolution module 3218 and a mediamanage module 3220, according to one embodiment.

The user-place claimable module 3200 may manage the information of theuser (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) location in the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). Theuser-user claimable module 3202 may manage the user (e.g., the user 2916of FIG. 29) to view a profile of another user and geographical locationin the neighborhood. The user-neighbor claimable module 3204 may managethe user (e.g., the users 2916 of FIG. 29) to view the profile of theregistered neighbor and/or may trace the geographical location of theuser in the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server2900 of FIG. 29). The user-business claimable module 3206 may manage theprofile of the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) managing acommercial business in the neighborhood environment. The reviews module3208 may provide remarks, local reviews and/or ratings of variousbusinesses as contributed by the users (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29)of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29). The defamation prevention module 3210 may enable theregistered users to modify the information associated with theunregistered users identifiable through the viewing of the physicalproperties.

The claimable-social network conversion module 3212 of the claimablemodule 2910 of FIG. 29 may transform the claimable profiles (e.g., theclaimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 ofFIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) to social networkprofiles when the registered users claim the claimable profiles (e.g.,the claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102of FIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17).

The claim module 3214 may enable the unregistered users to claim thephysical properties associated with their residence (e.g., the residence2918 of FIG. 29). The dispute resolution module 3218 may determine alegitimate user among different unregistered users who claim a samephysical property. The media manage module 3220 may allow users (e.g.,the user 2916 of FIG. 29) to manage and/or review a list any productfrom product catalog using a fully integrated, simple to use interface.

The media manage module 3220 may communicate with the user-placeclaimable module 3200, user-place claimable module 3200, user-userclaimable module 3202, the user-neighbor claimable module 3204 and thereviews module 3208 through user-business claimable module 3206. Theuser-place claimable module 3200 may communicate with the disputeresolution module 3218 through the claim module 3214. The user-userclaimable module 3202 may communicate with the data segment module 3216through the claimable-social network conversion module 3212. Theuser-neighbor claimable module 3204 may communicate with the defamationprevention module 3210. The user-business claimable module 3206 maycommunicate with the reviews module 3208. The claimable-social networkconversion module 3212 may communicate with the claim module 3214.

For example, the claimable module 2910 of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) may enable theregistered users to create the social network page of themselves, andmay edit information associated with the unregistered users identifiablethrough a viewing of physical properties in which the unregistered usersreside when the registered users have knowledge of characteristicsassociated with the unregistered users. Also, the claim module 3214 ofclaimable module 2910 may enable the unregistered users to claim thephysical properties associated with their residence.

Furthermore, the dispute resolution module 3218 of the claimable module2910 may determine a legitimate user of different unregistered users whoclaim a same physical property. The defamation prevention module 3210 ofthe claimable module 2910 may enable the registered users to modify theinformation associated with the unregistered users identifiable throughthe viewing of the physical properties, and/or to enable registered uservoting of an accuracy of the information associated with theunregistered users.

Moreover, the reviews module of the claimable module 2910 may providecomments, local reviews and/or ratings of various businesses ascontributed by the registered users and/or unregistered users of theglobal network environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).The claimable-social network conversion module 3212 of the claimablemodule 2910 of FIG. 29 may transform the claimable profiles (e.g., theclaimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 ofFIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17) to social networkprofiles when the registered users claim the claimable profiles (e.g.,the claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102of FIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17).

FIG. 33 is an exploded view of the commerce module 2912 of FIG. 29,according to one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 33 illustrates a residentannounce payment module 3300, a business display advertisement module3302, a geo position advertisement ranking module 3304, a contentsyndication module 3306, a text advertisement module 3308, a communitymarketplace module 3310, a click-in tracking module 3312, aclick-through tracking module 3314, according to one embodiment.

The community marketplace module 3310 may contain garage sales 3316, afree stuff 3318, a block party 3320 and a services 3322, according toone embodiment. The geo-position advertisement ranking module 3304 maydetermine an order of the advertisement in a series of otheradvertisements provided in the global neighborhood environment (e.g.,the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) by other advertisers. Theclick-through tracking module 3314 may determine a number ofclicks-through from the advertisement to a primary website of thebusiness.

A click-in tracking module 3312 may determine a number of user (e.g.,the user 2916 of FIG. 29) who clicked in to the advertisementsimultaneously. The community marketplace module 3310 may provide aforum in which the registered users can trade and/or announce messagesof trading events with at least each other. The content syndicationmodule 3306 may enable any data in the commerce module (e.g., thecommerce module 2912 of FIG. 29) to be syndicated to other network basedtrading platforms.

The business display advertisement module 3302 may impart advertisementsrelated to business (e.g., the business 2922 of FIG. 29), publicrelations, personal selling, and/or sales promotion to promotecommercial goods and services. The text advertisement module 3308 mayenable visibility of showing advertisements in the form of text in alldynamically created pages in the directory. The resident announcepayment module 3300 may take part as component in a broader and complexprocess, like a purchase, a contract, etc.

The block party 3320 may be a large public celebration in which manymembers of a single neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2902A-N of FIG.29) congregate to observe a positive event of some importance. The freestuff 3318 may be the free services (e.g., advertisement, links, etc.)available on the net. The garage sales 3316 may be services that may bedesigned to make the process of advertising and/or may find a garagesale more efficient and effective. The services 3322 may be non-materialequivalent of a good designed to provide a list of services that may beavailable for the user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29).

The geo position advertisement ranking module 3304 may communicate withthe resident announce payment module 3300, the business displayadvertisement module 3302, the content syndication module 3306, the textadvertisement module 3308, the community marketplace module 3310, theclick-in tracking module 3312 and the click-through tracking module3314.

For example, the commerce module 2908 of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) may provide anadvertisement system to a business which may purchase their location inthe global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29) in which the advertisement may be viewable concurrently with amap indicating a location of the business, and/or in which revenue maybe attributed to the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29) when the registered users and/or theunregistered users click-in on a simultaneously displayed data of theadvertisement along with the map indicating a location of the business.

Also, the geo-position advertisement ranking module 3304 of the commercemodule 2912 to determine an order of the advertisement in a series ofother advertisements provided in the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) by other advertisers, whereinthe advertisement may be a display advertisement, a text advertisement,and/or an employment recruiting portal associated with the business thatmay be simultaneously displayed with the map indicating the location ofthe business.

Moreover, the click-through tracking module 3314 of the commerce module2912 of FIG. 29 may determine a number of click-through from theadvertisement to a primary website of the business. In addition, theclick in tracking module 3312 of the commerce module 2912 may determinethe number of users (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) who clicked in tothe advertisement simultaneously displayed with the map indicating thelocation of the business.

The community marketplace module 3310 of the commerce module 2912 ofFIG. 29 may provide a forum in which the registered users may tradeand/or announce messages of trading events with certain registered usersin geographic proximity from each other.

Also, the content syndication module 3306 of the commerce module 2912 ofthe FIG. 29 may enable any data in the commerce module 2912 to besyndicated to other network based trading platforms.

FIG. 34 is an exploded view of a map module 2914 of FIG. 29, accordingto one embodiment. Particularly FIG. 34 may include a satellite datamodule 3400, a simplified map generator module 3402, a cartoon mapconverter module 3404, a profile pointer module 3406, a parcel module3408 and occupant module 3410, according to one embodiment. Thesatellite data module 3400 may help in mass broadcasting (e.g., maps)and/or as telecommunications relays in the map module 2914 of FIG. 29.

The simplified map generator module 3402 may receive the data (e.g.,maps) from the satellite data module 3400 and/or may convert thiscomplex map into a simplified map with fewer colors. The cartoon mapconverter module 3404 may apply a filter to the satellite data (e.g.,data generated by the satellite data module 3400 of FIG. 34) into asimplified polygon based representation.

The parcel module 3408 may identify some residence, civic, and businesslocations in the satellite data (e.g., the satellite data module 3400 ofFIG. 34). The occupant module 3410 may detect the geographical locationof the registered user in the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The profile pointer module 3406 maydetect the profiles of the registered user via the data received fromthe satellite. The cartoon map converter module 3404 may communicatewith, the satellite data module 3400, the simplified map generatormodule 3402, the profile pointer module 3406 and the occupant module3410. The parcel module 3408 may communicate with the satellite datamodule 3400.

For example, a map module 2914 of the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) may include a map dataassociated with a satellite data (e.g., data generated by the satellitedata module 3400 of FIG. 34) which serves as a basis of rendering themap in the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server2900 of FIG. 29) and/or which includes a simplified map generator (e.g.,the simplified map generator module 3402 of FIG. 34) which may transformthe map to a fewer color and location complex form using a parcel datawhich identifies residence, civic, and business locations in thesatellite data.

Also, the cartoon map converter module 3404 in the map module 2914 mayapply a filter to the satellite data (e.g., data generated by thesatellite data module 3400 of FIG. 34) to transform the satellite datainto a simplified polygon based representation using a Bezier curvealgorithm that converts point data of the satellite data to a simplifiedform.

FIG. 35 is a table view of user address details, according to oneembodiment. Particularly the table 3550 of FIG. 35 illustrates a userfield 3500, a verified? field 3502, a range field 3504, a principleaddress field 3506, a links field 3508, a contributed? field 3510 and anothers field 3512, according to one embodiment. The table 3550 mayinclude the information related to the address verification of the user(e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29). The user field 3500 may includeinformation such as the names of the registered users in a globalneighborhood environment (e.g., a privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

The verified? field 3502 may indicate the status whether the data,profiles and/or email address received from various registered user arevalidated or not. The range field 3504 may correspond to the distance ofa particular registered user geographical location in the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

The principal address field 3506 may display primary address of theregistered user in the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The links field 3508 may further givemore accurate details and/or links of the address of the user (e.g., theuser 2916 of FIG. 29). The contributed? field 3510 may provide the userwith the details of another individual and/or users contribution towardsthe neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).The other(s) field 3512 may display the details like the state, city,zip and/or others of the user's location in the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

The user field 3500 displays “Joe” in the first row and “Jane” in thesecond row of the user field 3500 column of the table 3550 illustratedin FIG. 7. The verified field? 3502 displays “Yes” in the first row and“No” in the second row of the verified? field 3502 column of the table3550 illustrated in FIG. 7. The range field 3504 displays “5 miles” inthe first row and “Not enabled” in the second row of the range field3504 column of the table 3550 illustrated in FIG. 7. The principaladdress field 3506 displays “500 Clifford Cupertino, Calif.” in thefirst row and “500 Johnson Cupertino, Calif.” in the second row of theprinciple address field 3506 column of the table 3550 illustrated inFIG. 7. The links field 3508 displays “859 Bette, 854 Bette” in thefirst row and “851 Bette 2900 Steven's Road” in the second row of thelinks field 3508 column of the table 3550 illustrated in FIG. 7.

The contributed? field 3510 displays “858 Bette Cupertino, Calif.,Farallone, Calif.” in the first row and “500 Hamilton, Palo Alto,Calif., 1905E. University” in the second row of the contributed field3510 column of the table 3550 illustrated in FIG. 7. The other(s) field3512 displays “City, State, Zip, other” in the first row of the other(s)field 3512 column of the table 3550 illustrated in FIG. 7.

FIG. 36 is a user interface view of the social community module 2906,according to one embodiment. The social community view 3650 may displaythe information associated with the social community module (e.g., thesocial community module 2906 of FIG. 29). The social community view 3650may display map of the specific geographic location associated with theuser profile of the social community module (e.g., the social communitymodule 2906 of FIG. 29). The social community view 3650 may display themap based geographic location associated with the user profile (e.g.,the user profile 4000 of FIG. 40A) only after verifying the address ofthe registered user of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

In addition, the social community view 3650 may provide a buildingcreator (e.g., the building builder 1602 of FIG. 16), in which theregistered users of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) may create and/or modify empty claimableprofiles (e.g., a claimable profile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, a claimableprofile 4102 of FIG. 41A, a claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17), buildinglayouts, social network pages, etc. The social community view 3650 ofthe social community module 2906 may enable access to the user (e.g.,the user 2916 of FIG. 29) to model a condo on any floor (e.g., basement,ground floor, first floor, etc.) selected through the drop down box bythe registered user of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The social community view 3650 of thesocial community module (e.g., the social community module 2906 of FIG.29) may enable the registered user of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) to contributeinformation about their neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29).

FIG. 37 is a profile view 3750 of a profile module 3700, according toone embodiment. The profile view 3750 of profile module 3700 may offerthe registered user to access the profile about the neighbors (e.g., theneighbor 2920 of FIG. 29). The profile view 3750 of profile module 3700may indicate the information associated with the profile of theregistered user of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The profile view 3750 may display theaddress of the registered user. The profile view 3750 may also displayevents organized by the neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29),history of the neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29), and/ormay also offer the information (e.g., public, private, etc.) associatedwith the family of the neighbors (e.g., the neighbor 2920 of FIG. 29)located in the locality of the user (e.g., the user(s) 2916 of FIG. 29)of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29).

FIG. 28 is a contribute view 3850 of a neighborhood network module 3800,according to one embodiment. The contribute view 3850 of theneighborhood network module 3800 may enable the registered user of theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29) to add information about their neighbors in the neighborhoodnetwork. The contribute view 3850 of the neighborhood network module3800 may offer registered user of the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) to add valuable notesassociated with the family, events, private information, etc.

FIG. 39 is a diagrammatic system view, according to one embodiment. FIG.39 is a diagrammatic system view 3900 of a data processing system inwhich any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be performed,according to one embodiment. Particularly, the system view 3900 of FIG.39 illustrates a processor 3902, a main memory 3904, a static memory3906, a bus 3908, a video display 3910, an alpha-numeric input device3912, a cursor control device 3914, a drive unit 3916, a signalgeneration device 3918, a network interface device 3920, a machinereadable medium 3922, instructions 3924, and a network 3926, accordingto one embodiment.

The diagrammatic system view 3900 may indicate a personal computerand/or a data processing system in which one or more operationsdisclosed herein are performed. The processor 3902 may bemicroprocessor, a state machine, an application specific integratedcircuit, a field programmable gate array, etc. (e.g., Intel® Pentium®processor). The main memory 3904 may be a dynamic random access memoryand/or a primary memory of a computer system.

The static memory 3906 may be a hard drive, a flash drive, and/or othermemory information associated with the data processing system. The bus3908 may be an interconnection between various circuits and/orstructures of the data processing system. The video display 3910 mayprovide graphical representation of information on the data processingsystem. The alpha-numeric input device 3912 may be a keypad, keyboardand/or any other input device of text (e.g., a special device to aid thephysically handicapped). The cursor control device 3914 may be apointing device such as a mouse.

The drive unit 3916 may be a hard drive, a storage system, and/or otherlonger term storage subsystem. The signal generation device 3918 may bea bios and/or a functional operating system of the data processingsystem. The machine readable medium 3922 may provide instructions onwhich any of the methods disclosed herein may be performed. Theinstructions 3924 may provide source code and/or data code to theprocessor 3902 to enable any one/or more operations disclosed herein.

FIG. 40A is a user interface view of mapping a user profile 4000 of thegeographic location 4004, according to one embodiment. In the exampleembodiment illustrated in FIG. 40A, the user profile 4000 may containthe information associated with the geographic location 4004. The userprofile 4000 may contain the information associated with the registereduser. The user profile 4000 may contain information such as address userof the specific geographic location, name of the occupant, profession ofthe occupant, details, phone number, educational qualification, etc.

The map 4002 may indicate the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) of the geographical location 4004, aclaimable profile 4006 (e.g., the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A,the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17), and a delisted profile 4008. Thegeographical location 4004 may be associated with the user profile 4000.The claimable profile 4006 may be the claimable profile 4006 associatedwith the neighboring property surrounding the geographic location 4004.The delisted profile 4008 illustrated in example embodiment of FIG. 40A,may be the claimable profile 4006 that may be delisted when theregistered user claims the physical property. The block 4010 illustratedin the example embodiment of FIG. 40A may be associated with hobbies,personal likes, etc. The block 4016 may be associated with events,requirements, etc. that may be displayed by the members of the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

For example, a verified registered user (e.g., a verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, a verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16) maybe associated with a user profile 4000. The user profile 4000 may beassociated with a specific geographic location. A map concurrentlydisplaying the user profile 4000 and the specific geographic location4004 may be generated. Also, the claimable profiles 4006 associated withdifferent geographic locations surrounding the specific geographiclocation associated with the user profile 4000 may be simultaneouslygenerated in the map. In addition, a query of the user profile 4000and/or the specific geographic location may be processed.

Similarly, a tag data (e.g., the tags 1210 of FIG. 40A) associated withthe specific geographic locations, a particular geographic location, andthe delisted geographic location may be processed. A frequent one of thetag data (e.g., the tags 1210 of FIG. 40A) may be displayed when thespecific geographic location and/or the particular geographic locationis made active, but not when a geographic location is delisted.

FIG. 40B is a user interface view of mapping of the claimable profile4006, according to one embodiment. In the example embodiment illustratedin FIG. 40B, the map 4002 may indicate the geographic locations in theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29) and/or may also indicate the geographic location of the claimableprofile 4006. The claimable profile 4006 may display the informationassociated with the registered user of the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29). The link claimthis profile 4012 may enable the registered user to claim the claimableprofile 4006 and/or may also allow the verified registered user (e.g.,the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B) to edit any informationin the claimable profiles 4006. The block 4014 may display theinformation posted by any of the verified registered users (e.g., theverified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 16) of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29).

For example, a particular claimable profile (e.g., the particularclaimable profile may be associated with a neighboring property to thespecific property in the neighborhood) of the claimable profiles (e.g.,the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A, the claimable profile 1704 ofFIG. 17) may be converted to another user profile (e.g., the userprofile may be tied to a specific property in a neighborhood) when adifferent registered user (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG. 29) claims aparticular geographic location to the specific geographic locationassociated with the particular claimable profile.

In addition, a certain claimable profile of the claimable profiles maybe delisted when a private registered user claims a certain geographiclocation (e.g., the geographical location 4004 of FIG. 40A) adjacent tothe specific geographic location and/or the particular geographiclocation. Also, the certain claimable profile in the map 4002 may bemasked when the certain claimable profile is delisted through therequest of the private registered user.

Furthermore, a tag data (e.g., the tags 1210 of FIG. 40A) associatedwith the specific geographic location, the particular geographiclocation, and the delisted geographic location may be processed. Afrequent one of the tag data may be displayed when the specificgeographic location and/or the particular geographic location are madeactive, but not when a geographic location is delisted.

Moreover, the verified registered user (e.g., the verified registereduser 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, the verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 16)may be permitted to edit any information in the claimable profiles 4006including the particular claimable profile 4006 and/or the certainclaimable profile until the certain claimable profile may be claimed bythe different registered user and/or the private registered user. Inaddition, a claimant of any claimable profile 4006 may be enabled tocontrol what information is displayed on their user profile. Also, theclaimant may be allowed to segregate certain information on their userprofile 4000 such that only other registered users directly connected tothe claimant are able to view data on their user profile 4000.

FIG. 41A is a user interface view of mapping of a claimable profile 4102of the commercial user 4100, according to one embodiment. In the exampleembodiment illustrated in FIG. 41A, the commercial user 4100 may beassociated with the customizable business profile 4104 located in thecommercial geographical location. The claimable profile 4102 may containthe information associated with the commercial user 4100. The claimableprofile 4102 may contain the information such as address, name,profession, tag, details (e.g., ratings), and educational qualificationetc. of the commercial user 4100. The verified registered user 4110 maybe user associated with the global neighborhood environment (e.g., theprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) and may communicate a message to theneighborhood commercial user 4100. For example, a payment of thecommercial user 4100 and the verified registered user 4110 may beprocessed.

FIG. 41B is a user interface view of mapping of customizable businessprofile 4104 of the commercial user 4100, according to one embodiment.In the example embodiment illustrated in FIG. 41B, the commercial user4100 may be associated with the customizable business profile 4104. Thecustomizable business profile 4104 may be profile of any business firm(e.g., restaurant, hotels, supermarket, etc.) that may containinformation such as address, occupant name, profession of thecustomizable business. The customizable business profile 4104 may alsoenable the verified registered user 4110 to place online order for theproducts.

For example, the commercial user 4100 may be permitted to purchase acustomizable business profile 4104 associated with a commercialgeographic location. Also, the verified registered user 4110 may beenabled to communicate a message to the global neighborhood environment(e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) based on a selectabledistance range away from the specific geographic location. In addition,a payment of the commercial user 4100 and/or the verified registereduser 4110 may be processed.

A target advertisement 4106 may display the information associated withthe offers and/or events of the customizable business. The displayadvertisement 4108 may display ads of the products of the customizablebusiness that may be displayed to urge the verified registered user 4110to buy the products of the customizable business. The verifiedregistered user 4110 may be user associated with the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) that maycommunicate a message to the commercial user 4100 and/or may beinterested in buying the products of the customizable business.

People in suburbia and urban cities now may not even know who theirneighbors are. Communities have become more insular. There may be a fewactive people in each neighborhood who know about their neighborhood andare willing to share what they know with others. They should be able toshare this information with others through the Internet. Many peoplewant to know who their neighbors are and express themselves and theirfamilies through the internet. People want to also know aboutrecommendations and what kind of civic and cultural things are in theneighborhood. What is contemplated includes: A social network for peoplewho want to get to know their neighbors and/or neighborhoods.Particularly, one in which a set of maps of neighborhoods (e.g., such asthose on Zillow.com or provided through Google® or Microsoft®) are usedas a basis on which a user can identify themselves with a particularaddress. This address may be verified through one or more of the moduleson FIG. 29. Particularly, this address may be the current address of theuser is living, a previous address where the user used to live, etc.

The address may be verified through a credit check of the user, or acopy of the user's drivers license. Once the user is approved in aparticular home/location, the user can leave their comments about theirhome. They can mark their home information proprietary, so that no oneelse can contribute to their info without their permission. They canhave separate private and public sections, in which the private sectionis shared with only verified addresses of neighbors, and the publicsection is shared with anybody viewing their profile. The user can thencreate separate social networking pages for homes, churches, locations,etc. surrounding his verified address. As such, the user can expresshim/herself through their profile, and contribute information about whatthey're neighborhood is like and who lives there. Only verifiedindividuals or entities might be able to view information in thatneighborhood.

The more information the user contributes, the higher his or her statuswill be in the neighborhood through a marker (e.g., a number of stars),or through additional services offered to the neighbor, such as theability to search a profiles of neighbors in a larger distance rangefrom a verified address of the user. For example, initially, the usermay only be able to search profiles within 1 mile on their principal,current home after being verified as living in there. When they create aprofiles for themselves and/or contribute profiles of other people, theymay widen their net of private profiles they may be allowed to search(e.g., because they become a trusted party in the neighborhood byoffering civic information). Neighbors can leave feedback for eachother, and arrange private block parties, etc. through their privateprofile. All these features may possible through one or more of theembodiments and/or modules illustrated in FIGS. 1-41. Through theirpublic profile, neighbors can know if there is a doctor living down thestreet, or an attorney around the corner. The FIGS. 1-41 illustratevarious embodiments that may be realized. While a description is givenhere, a self-evident description can be derived for the software andvarious methods, software, and hardware directly from the attachedFigures.

A neighborhood expression and user contribution system is disclosed. Inone aspect, the technology allows users to see the value of millions ofhomes across the United States and/or the world, not just those that theuser themselves own or live in, because they can share information abouttheir neighbors. People living in apartments or condos can use theapartment/condo modeler wizard (e.g., as illustrated in FIG. 29) tocreate models (e.g. 2 or 3d) of their building and share informationabout their apartment/home and of their neighbors with others. Thetechnology has an integrated targeted advertising system for enablingadvertisers to make money through the social community module 2900 bydelivering targeted and non-targeted advertisements.

Aside from giving user generated content of information of homes, thesystem may also provide value estimates of homes it may also offersseveral unique features including value changes of each home in a giventime frame (e.g. 1, 5, or 10 years) and aerial views of homes as well asthe price of the surrounding homes in the area. It may also providesbasic data of a given home such as square footage and the number ofbedrooms and bathrooms. Users may can also obtain current estimates ofhomes if there was a significant change made such as recently modeledkitchen.

In the example systems and methods illustrated in FIGS. 1-41, neighborsmay get to know each other and their surrounding businesses more easilythrough the Internet. The user interface view of the social communitymodule may include a searchable map interface and/or a social networkingpage on the right when one clicks a particular home/location. The mapinterface may/may not include information about prices of a home, orinformation about the number of bedrooms of a home, etc. In essence,certain critical input information may be divided as follows:

Residential location: (1) name of the persons/family living in thatresidence (2) Their profession if any 3) Their educational background ifany (4) Their recreational interests (5) About their family descriptionbox (6) Anything else people want to post about that person includingtheir interests, hobbies, etc. (7) An ability for users to leaveendorsements.

Business location or civic location (e.g., park, govt. building, church,etc.): (1) name of the business/location (2) email of the manager of thebusiness/location (3) phone number of the business/location if known (4)anything else people want to say about the business (good or bad), forexample, contributable through a claimable.

These two will be the primary types. Various features differentiateexample embodiments of the social community module from other socialnetworks. These differentiators include (1) interface driven by address(2) maps that can be viewed, zoomed in on, tied to a parcel #, etc. (3)Anyone can populate anyone's social network page. (4) Anybody can postin one of the boxes. They can post anonymously or publicly (5) Ifsomeone wants to override information that already has been established,they will need to have an identity (e.g., user name), to overridepublished posting information.

However, according to one embodiment, if an owner of an entity locationwishes to mark their location private, and uneditable by the publicwithout their permission, they will need to pay (e.g., a monthly fixedfee) through the social community module. Alternatively, the owner ofthe entity location may not need to pay to mark the location as privateand uneditable by the public without the owner's permission. Exampleembodiments of the social community module may feature info aboutbusinesses. They may also feature info about people that live in thehomes, and may/may not display information on prices, number ofbedrooms, etc.

The social community module (e.g., as described in FIG. 29) may be asearch engine (e.g., Google®, Yahoo®, etc.) that uses maps (e.g.,satellite map views) instead of text displays to show information, userprofiles, reviews, promotions, ads, directions, events, etc. relevant touser searches.

The example systems and methods illustrated in FIGS. 1-41 may facilitatea social network membership that spreads virally by users inviting theirfriends. For example, every person that registers has their own profile,but registration may not be required to contribute content. However,registration may be required to “own” content on your own home, and haveoverride permission to delete things that you don't like about yourselflisted about you by others. In one embodiment, the social communitymodule may need to confirm the user's identity and address (e.g., usingdigital signature tools, drivers license verification, etc.), and/or theuser may need to pay a monthly fixed fee (e.g., through a credit card)to control their identity.

For example, they can get a rebate, and not have to pay the monthly feefor a particular month, if they invite at least 15 people that month ANDcontribute information about at least 10 of their neighbors, friends,civic, or business locations in their neighborhood. People can post picsof their family, their business, their home, etc. on their profile oncethey ‘own’ their home and register. In another embodiment, endorsementsfor neighbors by others will be published automatically. People cansearch for other people by descriptors (e.g., name, profession, distanceaway from me, etc.)

Profiles of users may be created and/or generated on the fly, e.g., whenone clicks on a home.

People may be able to visually see directions to their neighborhoodbusinesses, rather than reading directions through text in a firstphase. After time, directions (e.g., routes) can be offered as well.Users can leave their opinions on businesses, but the social communitymodule also enables users to leave opinions on neighbors, occupants orany entity having a profile on the map display. The social communitymodule may not attempt to restrict freedom of speech by the users, butmay voluntarily delete slanderous, libelous information on the requestof an owner manually at any time.

In one embodiment, the methods and systems illustrated in FIGS. 1-41enable people to search for things they want e.g. nearby pizzas etc.(e.g., by distance away). Advertisers can ‘own’ their listing by placinga display ad on nextdoor.com. Instead of click-through revenues whensomeone leaves the site, revenues will be realized when the link isclicked and someone views a preview html on the right of the visual map.Targeted advertisements may also be placed when someone searches aparticular street, name, city, etc.

In another example embodiment, the social community module may enableusers of the social network to populate profiles for apartments,buildings, condos, etc. People can create floors, layout, etc. of theirbuilding, and add social network pages on the fly when they click on alocation that has multiple residents, tenants, or lessees.

A user interface associated with the social community module 2900 may beclean, simple, and uncluttered (e.g., Simple message of “get to knowyour neighbors”). For example, the map interface shows neighbors.Methods and systems associated with the features described may focus onuser experience, e.g., ensuring a compelling message to invite friendsand/or others to join. A seed phase for implementation of the methodsand systems illustrated in FIGS. 1-41 may be identified for building amembership associated with the social community module.

For example, a user having extensive networks in a certain area (e.g., acity) may seed those communities as well. The social network mayencourage user expression, user content creation, ease of use on site toget maximum users/distribution as quickly as possible. In anotherembodiment, the social community module may ensure that infrastructureassociated with operation of the social community module (e.g., servers)are able to handle load (e.g., data traffic) and keep up with expectedgrowth.

For example, the user interface view illustrated in the various figuresshows an example embodiment of the social community module of FIG. 29.The user interface view may include a publicly editable profile wallsection allowing public postings that owners of the profile can edit.For example, any user may be able to post on an empty profile wall, buta user must claim the location to own the profile (e.g., may minimizebarriers to users posting comments on profile walls).

Names featured on the profile wall may be links to the user profiles onthe map (e.g., giving an immediate sense for the location of admirers(or detractors) relative to user location). In one embodiment, an action(e.g., mouse-over) on a comment would highlight the comment user's houseon the map and names linking to user profiles. The user interface viewmay also utilize the mapping interface to link comments to locations.

For example, the various embodiments illustrate a comment announcing agarage sale, that is tied to a mappable location on the mappinginterface. (e.g., allows people to browse references directly frompeople's profiles.). In the various figures, an example display of themapping interface is illustrated. In this example display, houses areshown in green, a church is shown in white, the red house shows theselected location and/or the profile owner's house, question marksindicate locations without profile owners, blue buildings are commerciallocations, and the pink building represents an apartment complex.

Houses with stars indicate people associated with (e.g., “friends”) ofthe current user. In one embodiment, a user action (e.g., mouse-over) ona commercial property displayed in the mapping interface may pull up astar (e.g., “***) rating based on user reviews, and/or a link to theprofile for the property. A mouse-over action on the apartment complexmay pull up a building schematic for the complex with floor plans, onwhich the user can see friends/profiles for various floors or rooms.Question marks indicated in the display may prompt users to own thatprofile or post comments on the wall for that space. A user action onany house displayed in the mapping interface may pull up a profile link,summary info such as status, profession, interests, etc. associated withthe profile owner, a link to add the person as a friend, and/or a linkto send a message to the user (e.g., the profile owner).

In another embodiment, a default profile view shown is that of thecurrent user (e.g., logged in), and if the user clicks on any otherprofile, it may show their profile in that space instead (with few textchanges to indicate different person). The events in your area view ofthe profile display in may have a default radius for notification ofevents (e.g., by street, by block, by neighborhood, county, etc.) Eventsare associated with user profiles and may link to locations displayed onthe mapping interfaces. The hot picks section may be an ad/promotionalzone, with default settings for radius of alerts also configurable.

For example, the “Find a Friend” section may permit users to search byname, address, interests, status, profession, favorite movies/music/foodetc. Users are also able to search within a given radius of theirlocation. In one embodiment, the user interface view may include a linkfor the user to invite other people to join the network (e.g., mayencourage users who see a question-mark on a house or a location on themapping interface that corresponds to a real location associated withsomeone they know to contact that person and encourage them to join andown that profile through the social community module).

Some of the reasons we believe these embodiments are unique include:

Search engine that provides a visual map (e.g., rather than text)display of information relevant to user queries.

Users can search on the map for other people having certainprofessional, educational, personal, extracurricular, cultural,political and/or family etc. profiles or interests, within any locationrange.

Users can search for information on the map, that is accessible directlythrough profile displays. For example, the user may search forinformation about a certain subject and be directed to a profile ofanother user having information about the subject. Alternatively, theuser may view the search subject itself as a visible item (e.g., ifapplicable to the search query) having a profile on the map display,along with additional information associated with the item (e.g.,contributed by other users).

Allows users to search, browse and view information posted by otherusers about an entity location such as a home, a business property, acondo, an apartment complex, etc. directly on a map display

Allows users to browse, form and join groups and communities based onlocation, preferences, interests, friend requests, etc.

Users can send messages to other people through their profiles withinthe map display

Users can find friends, business associates, vendors, romantic partners,etc. on the map within any location range (e.g., in their neighborhood,street, subdivision, etc.) by browsing the map display or searching forpeople with certain profile characteristics and/or similar interests.

Users can view, browse and post comments/information/reviews aboutentity locations and/or people associated with those locations (e.g.,occupants of a house, families, apartment residents, businesses,non-governmental entities, etc.), even for locations that do not have aprofile owner. For example, all entity locations visible on the mapdisplay may link to a profiles on which any user can post comments. Toown the profile and edit the information posted about an entity locationor the occupant(s), the occupant(s) would have to join the networkassociated with the social community module and become the owner of theprofile. The profile owner would then become visible in the map display(e.g., entity locations without profile owners may only be visible asquestions marks on the map, having blank profiles but public commentsections).

Users can share their comments and opinions about locations, preferencesand/or interests on their profiles that are visible and searchable onthe map display

Automatically notifies users of events and promotions in an area (e.g.,scope of area can be selected by the user), and highlights venues anduser profiles on the map.

Users can post reviews about entity locations (e.g., businesses) suchthat ratings for entity locations are visible on the map. Other userscan trace the location of the users that posted the comments on the map.

Users who post comments on other profiles can be traced directly on themap through their comments. Alternatively, users can choose to submitanonymous postings or comments on other user/entity profiles, and/or maychoose not to be traceable on the map through their comments.

For entity locations having more than one residency unit (e.g.,apartment complexes), people can create and post on profiles for anyroom/floor of the location (e.g., by entering information on a schematicview of the location that is visible on the map).

Users can visually determine routes/directions/orientation to locationsthat they can browse within the map display. Additionally, users cangenerate written driving, walking or public transit directions betweenpoints of interest (e.g., from the user's house to a friend's house)within the map display.

Users can communicate (e.g., through live chat) directly with otherusers in the area based on an association determined through theirprofiles

Business entity locations can generate targeted ads and promotionswithin locations on the map display (e.g., virtual billboards).

The social community module can realize revenue based on adclickthroughs by users, without the users being directed away from theinterface. For example, when a user clicks on any targeted ad/promotiondisplayed on the map, the profile of the entity associated with thead/promotion may be generated alongside the map display.

Neighborhood or neighborhood (see spelling differences) is ageographically localized community located within a larger city orsuburb. The residents of a given neighborhood are called neighbors (orneighbors), although this term may also be used across much largerdistances in rural areas.

Traditionally, a neighborhood is small enough that the neighbors are allable to know each other. However in practice, neighbors may not know oneanother very well at all. Villages aren't divided into neighborhoods,because they are already small enough that the villagers can all knoweach other.

The system however may work in any country and any geography of theworld. In Canada and the United States, neighborhoods are often givenofficial or semi-official status through neighborhood associations,neighborhood watches, or block watches. These may regulate such mattersas lawn care and fence height, and they may provide such services asblock parties, neighborhood parks, and community security. In some otherplaces the equivalent organization is the parish, though a parish mayhave several neighborhoods within it depending on the area.

In localities where neighborhoods do not have an official status,questions can arise as to where one neighborhood begins and anotherends, such as in the city of Philadelphia, Pa. Many cities may usedistricts and wards as official divisions of the city, rather thantraditional neighborhood boundaries.

In the mainland of the People's Republic of China, the term is generallyused for the urban administrative unit usually found immediately belowthe district level, although an intermediate, sub-district level existsin some cities. They are also called streets (administrative terminologymay vary from city to city). Neighborhoods encompass 2,000 to 10,000families. Within neighborhoods, families are grouped into smallerresidential units or quarters of 2900 to 3400 families and supervised bya residents' committee; these are subdivided into residents' smallgroups of fifteen to forty families. In most urban areas of China,neighborhood, community, residential community, residential unit,residential quarter have the same meaning:

or

or

or

, and is the direct sublevel of a subdistrict (

), which is the direct sublevel of a district (

), which is the direct sublevel of a city (

). (See Political divisions of China.

The system and methods may be distributed through neighborhoodassociations. A neighborhood or neighborhood (see spelling differences)is a geographically localized community located within a larger city orsuburb. The residents of a given neighborhood are called neighbors (orneighbors), although this term may also be used across much largerdistances in rural areas.

Traditionally, a neighborhood is small enough that the neighbors are allable to know each other. However in practice, neighbors may not know oneanother very well at all. Villages aren't divided into neighborhoods,because they are already small enough that the villagers can all knoweach other. Each of the technologies and concepts disclosed herein maybe embodied in software and/or hardware through one or more of themodules/embodiments discussed in FIGS. 1-41.

A block party is a large public celebration in which many members of asingle neighborhood congregate to observe a positive event of someimportance. Many times, there will be celebration in the form of playingmusic and dance. Block parties gained popularity in the United Statesduring the 1970s. Block Parties were often held outdoors and power forthe DJ's sound system was taken illegally from street lights. This wasfamously referenced in the song “South Bronx” by KRS-One with the line:

“Power from a street light made the place dark. But yo, they didn'tcare, they turned it out.” It is also interesting to note that manyinner city block parties were actually held illegally, as they might bedescribed as loitering. However, police turned a blind eye to them,reasoning that if everyone from the neighborhood was gathered in oneplace there was less chance of crime being committed elsewhere.

In the suburbs, block parties are commonly held on holidays such asFourth of July or Labor Day. Sometimes the occasion may be a theme sucha “Welcome to the Neighborhood” for a new family or a recent popularmovie. Often block parties involve barbecuing, lawn games such as SimonSays and group dancing such as the Electric Slide, the Macarena or linedancing.

In other usage, a block party has come to mean any informal publiccelebration. For example, a block party can be conducted via televisioneven though there is no real block in the observance. The same is truefor the Internet. The block party is closely related to the beach party.The British equivalent is the street party.

The systems and methods illustrated in FIGS. 1-41 may have software toemulate a block party or a neighborhood watch. A neighborhood watch(also called a crime watch or neighborhood crime watch) is a citizens'organization devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within aneighborhood. It is not a vigilante organization, since members areexpected not to directly intervene in possible criminal activity.Instead, neighborhood watch members are to stay alert to unusualactivity and contact the authorities. It builds on the concept of a townwatch from Colonial America.

The current American system of neighborhood watches began developing inthe late 1960s as a response to the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese inQueens, N.Y. People became outraged that three dozen witnesses didnothing to save Genovese or to apprehend her killer Some locals formedgroups to watch over their neighborhoods and to look out for anysuspicious activity in their areas. Shortly thereafter, the NationalSheriffs' Association began a concerted effort in 1972 to revitalize the“watch group” effort nationwide.

A neighborhood watch (also called a crime watch or neighborhood crimewatch) is a citizens' organization devoted to crime and vandalismprevention within a neighborhood. It is not a vigilante organization,since members are expected not to directly intervene in possiblecriminal activity. Instead, neighborhood watch members are to stay alertto unusual activity and contact the authorities. It builds on theconcept of a town watch from Colonial America.

The current American system of neighborhood watches began developing inthe late 1960s as a response to the rape and murder of Kitty Genovese inQueens, N.Y. People became outraged that three dozen witnesses didnothing to save Genovese or to apprehend her killer Some locals formedgroups to watch over their neighborhoods and to look out for anysuspicious activity in their areas. Shortly thereafter, the NationalSheriffs' Association began a concerted effort in 1972 to revitalize the“watch group” effort nationwide.

The various methods, systems, and apparatuses disclosed herein andillustrated and described using the attached FIGS. 1-41 can be appliedto creating online community organizations of neighborhoods of any form.During human growth and maturation, people encounter sets of otherindividuals and experiences. Infants encounter first, their immediatefamily, then extended family, and then local community (such as schooland work). They thus develop individual and group identity throughassociations that connect them to life-long community experiences.

As people grow, they learn about and form perceptions of socialstructures. During this progression, they form personal and culturalvalues, a world view and attitudes toward the larger society. Gaining anunderstanding of group dynamics and how to “fit in” is part ofsocialization. Individuals develop interpersonal relationships and beginto make choices about whom to associate with and under whatcircumstances.

During adolescence and adulthood, the individual tends to develop a moresophisticated identity, often taking on a role as a leader or followerin groups. If associated individuals develop the intent to give ofthemselves, and commit to the collective well-being of the group, theybegin to acquire a sense of community.

Socialization: The process of learning to adopt the behavior patterns ofthe community is called socialization. The most fertile time ofsocialization is usually the early stages of life, during whichindividuals develop the skills and knowledge and learn the rolesnecessary to function within their culture and social environment. Forsome psychologists, especially those in the psychodynamic tradition, themost important period of socialization is between the ages of 1 and 10.But socialization also includes adults moving into a significantlydifferent environment, where they must learn a new set of behaviors.

Socialization is influenced primarily by the family, through whichchildren first learn community norms. Other important influences includeschool, peer groups, mass media, the workplace and government. Thedegree to which the norms of a particular society or community areadopted determines one's willingness to engage with others. The norms oftolerance, reciprocity and trust are important “habits of the heart,” asde Tocqueville put it, in an individual's involvement in community.

Continuity of the connections between leaders, between leaders andfollowers, and among followers is vital to the strength of a community.Members individually hold the collective personality of the whole. Withsustained connections and continued conversations, participants incommunities develop emotional bonds, intellectual pathways, enhancedlinguistic abilities, and even a higher capacity for critical thinkingand problem-solving. It could be argued that successive and sustainedcontact with other people might help to remove some of the tension ofisolation, due to alienation, thus opening creative avenues that wouldhave otherwise remained impassable.

Conversely, sustained involvement in tight communities may tend toincrease tension in some people. However, in many cases, it is easyenough to distance oneself from the “hive” temporarily to ease thisstress. Psychological maturity and effective communication skills arethought to be a function of this ability. In nearly every context,individual and collective behaviors are required to find a balancebetween inclusion and exclusion; for the individual, a matter of choice;for the group, a matter of charter. The sum of the creative energy(often referred to as “synergy”) and the strength of the mechanisms thatmaintain this balance is manifest as an observable and resilient senseof community.

McMillan and Chavis (1986) identify four elements of “sense ofcommunity”: 1) membership, 2) influence, 3) integration and fulfillmentof needs, and 4) shared emotional connection. They give the followingexample of the interplay between these factors: Someone puts anannouncement on the dormitory bulletin board about the formation of anintramural dormitory basketball team. People attend the organizationalmeeting as strangers out of their individual needs (integration andfulfillment of needs). The team is bound by place of residence(membership boundaries are set) and spends time together in practice(the contact hypothesis). They play a game and win (successful sharedvalent event). While playing, members exert energy on behalf of the team(personal investment in the group). As the team continues to win, teammembers become recognized and congratulated (gaining honor and statusfor being members). Someone suggests that they all buy matching shirtsand shoes (common symbols) and they do so (influence).

A Sense of Community Index (SCI) has been developed by Chavis and hiscolleagues (1986). Although originally designed to assess sense ofcommunity in neighborhoods, the index has been adapted for use inschools, the workplace and a variety of types of communities.

Communitarianism as a group of related but distinct philosophies (orideologies) began in the late 20th century, opposing classicalliberalism, capitalism and socialism while advocating phenomena such ascivil society. Not necessarily hostile to social liberalism,communitarianism rather has a different emphasis, shifting the focus ofinterest toward communities and societies and away from the individual.The question of priority, whether for the individual or community, mustbe determined in dealing with pressing ethical questions about a varietyof social issues, such as health care, abortion, multiculturalism, andhate speech.

Effective communication practices in group and organizational settingsare important to the formation and maintenance of communities. How ideasand values are communicated within communities are important to theinduction of new members, the formulation of agendas, the selection ofleaders and many other aspects. Organizational communication is thestudy of how people communicate within an organizational context and theinfluences and interactions within organizational structures. Groupmembers depend on the flow of communication to establish their ownidentity within these structures and learn to function in the groupsetting. Although organizational communication, as a field of study, isusually geared toward companies and business groups, these may also beseen as communities. The principles can also be applied to other typesof communities.

If the sense of community exists, both freedom and security exist aswell. The community then takes on a life of its own, as people becomefree enough to share and secure enough to get along. The sense ofconnectedness and formation of social networks comprise what has becomeknown as social capital.

Azadi Tower is a town square in modern Iran. Social capital is definedby Robert D. Putnam as “the collective value of all social networks (whopeople know) and the inclinations that arise from these networks to dothings for each other (norms of reciprocity).” Social capital in actioncan be seen in groups of varying formality, including neighbors keepingan eye on each others' homes. However, as Putnam notes in Bowling Alone:The Collapse and Revival of American Community (30000), social capitalhas been falling in the United States. Putnam found that over the past25 years, attendance at club meetings has fallen 58 percent, familydinners are down 33 percent, and having friends visit has fallen 45percent.

Western cultures are thus said to be losing the spirit of community thatonce were found in institutions including churches and communitycenters. Sociologist Ray Oldenburg states in The Great Good Place thatpeople need three places: 1) The home, 2) the workplace, and, 3) thecommunity hangout or gathering place.

With this philosophy in mind, many grassroots efforts such as TheProject for Public Spaces are being started to create this “Third Place”in communities. They are taking form in independent bookstores,coffeehouses, local pubs and through many innovative means to create thesocial capital needed to foster the sense and spirit of community.

Community development is often formally conducted by universities orgovernment agencies to improve the social well-being of local, regionaland, sometimes, national communities. Less formal efforts, calledcommunity building or community organizing, seek to empower individualsand groups of people by providing them with the skills they need toeffect change in their own communities. These skills often assist inbuilding political power through the formation of large social groupsworking for a common agenda. Community development practitioners mustunderstand both how to work with individuals and how to affectcommunities' positions within the context of larger social institutions.

Formal programs conducted by universities are often used to build aknowledge base to drive curricula in sociology and community studies.The General Social Survey from the National Opinion Research Center atthe University of Chicago and the Saguaro Seminar at the John F. KennedySchool of Government at Harvard University are examples of nationalcommunity development in the United States. In The United Kingdom,Oxford University has led in providing extensive research in the fieldthrough its Community Development Journal, used worldwide bysociologists and community development practitioners.

At the intersection between community development and community buildingare a number of programs and organizations with community developmenttools. One example of this is the program of the Asset Based CommunityDevelopment Institute of Northwestern University. The institute makesavailable downloadable tools to assess community assets and makeconnections between non-profit groups and other organizations that canhelp in community building. The Institute focuses on helping communitiesdevelop by “mobilizing neighborhood assets”—building from the inside outrather than the outside in.

Community building and organizing: M. Scott Peck is of the view that thealmost accidental sense of community which exists at times of crisis,for example in New York City after the attacks of Sep. 11, 30001, can beconsciously built. Peck believes that the process of “consciouscommunity building” is a process of building a shared story, andconsensual decision making, built upon respect for all individuals andinclusivity of difference. He is of the belief that this process goesthrough four stages:

Pseudo-community: Where participants are “nice with each other”,playing-safe, and presenting what they feel is the most favorable sidesof their personalities. Chaos: When people move beyond theinauthenticity of pseudo-community and feel safe enough to present their“shadow” selves. This stage places great demands upon the facilitatorfor greater leadership and organization, but Peck believes that“organizations are not communities”, and this pressure should beresisted.

Emptying: This stage moves beyond the attempts to fix, heal and convertof the chaos stage, when all people become capable of acknowledgingtheir own woundedness and brokenness, common to us all as human beings.Out of this emptying comes

Authentic community: the process of deep respect and true listening forthe needs of the other people in this community. This stage Peckbelieves can only be described as “glory” and reflects a deep yearningin every human soul for compassionate understanding from one's fellows.

More recently Scott Peck has remarked that building a sense of communityis easy. It is maintaining this sense of community that is difficult inthe modern world. The Ithaca Hour is an example of community-basedcurrency. Community building can use a wide variety of practices,ranging from simple events such as potlucks and small book clubs tolarger-scale efforts such as mass festivals and construction projectsthat involve local participants rather than outside contractors. Somecommunities have developed their own “Local Exchange Trading Systems”(LETS) and local currencies, such as the Ithaca Hours system, toencourage economic growth and an enhanced sense of community.

Community building that is geared toward activism is usually termed“community organizing.” In these cases, organized community groups seekaccountability from elected officials and increased directrepresentation within decision-making bodies. Where good-faithnegotiations fail, these constituency-led organizations seek to pressurethe decision-makers through a variety of means, including picketing,boycotting, sit-ins, petitioning, and electoral politics. The ARISEDetroit! coalition and the Toronto Public Space Committee are examplesof activist networks committed to shielding local communities fromgovernment and corporate domination and inordinate influence.

Community organizing is sometimes focused on more than just resolvingspecific issues. Organizing often means building a widely accessiblepower structure, often with the end goal of distributing power equallythroughout the community. Community organizers generally seek to buildgroups that are open and democratic in governance. Such groupsfacilitate and encourage consensus decision-making with a focus on thegeneral health of the community rather than a specific interest group.

The three basic types of community organizing are grassroots organizing,coalition building, and faith-based community organizing (also called“institution-based community organizing,” “broad-based communityorganizing” or “congregation-based community organizing”).

Community service is usually performed in connection with a nonprofitorganization, but it may also be undertaken under the auspices ofgovernment, one or more businesses, or by individuals. It is typicallyunpaid and voluntary. However, it can be part of alternative sentencingapproaches in a justice system and it can be required by educationalinstitutions.

The most common usage of the word “community” indicates a large groupliving in close proximity. Examples of local community include: Amunicipality is an administrative local area generally composed of aclearly defined territory and commonly referring to a town or village.Although large cities are also municipalities, they are often thought ofas a collection of communities, due to their diversity.

A neighborhood is a geographically localized community, often within alarger city or suburb. A planned community is one that was designed fromscratch and grew up more or less following the plan. Several of theworld's capital cities are planned cities, notably Washington, D.C., inthe United States, Canberra in Australia, and Brasilia in Brazil. It wasalso common during the European colonization of the Americas to buildaccording to a plan either on fresh ground or on the ruins of earlierAmerindian cities. Identity: In some contexts, “community” indicates agroup of people with a common identity other than location. Membersoften interact regularly. Common examples in everyday usage include: A“professional community” is a group of people with the same or relatedoccupations. Some of those members may join a professional society,making a more defined and formalized group.

These are also sometimes known as communities of practice. A virtualcommunity is a group of people primarily or initially communicating orinteracting with each other by means of information technologies,typically over the Internet, rather than in person. These may be eithercommunities of interest, practice or communion. (See below.) Researchinterest is evolving in the motivations for contributing to onlinecommunities.

Some communities share both location and other attributes. Memberschoose to live near each other because of one or more common interests.A retirement community is designated and at least usually designed forretirees and seniors—often restricted to those over a certain age, suchas 55. It differs from a retirement home, which is a single building orsmall complex, by having a number of autonomous households.

An intentional community is a deliberate residential community with amuch higher degree of social interaction than other communities. Themembers of an intentional community typically hold a common social,political or spiritual vision and share responsibilities and resources.Intentional communities include Amish villages, ashrams, cohousing,communes, ecovillages, housing cooperatives, kibbutzim, and land trusts.

Special nature of human community Music in Central Park, a public space.Definitions of community as “organisms inhabiting a common environmentand interacting with one another,” while scientifically accurate, do notconvey the richness, diversity and complexity of human communities.Their classification, likewise is almost never precise. Untidy as it maybe, community is vital for humans. M. Scott Peck expresses this in thefollowing way: “There can be no vulnerability without risk; there can beno community without vulnerability; there can be no peace, andultimately no life, without community.” This conveys some of thedistinctiveness of human community.

Embodiments described herein in FIGS. 1-11 govern a new kind of socialnetwork for neighborhoods, according to one embodiment (e.g., may beprivate and/or wiki-editable search engine based). It should be notedthat in some embodiments, the address of an user may be masked from thepublic search (but still may be used for privacy considerations),according to one embodiment. Some embodiments have no preseeded data,whereas others might. Embodiments described herein may present rich,location specific information on individual residents and businesses.

A user can “Claim” one or more Business Pages and/or a ResidentialPages, according to one embodiment. In order to secure their Claim, theuser may verify their location associated with the Business Page and/orResidential page within 30 days, or the page becomes released to thecommunity, according to one embodiment. A user can only have a maximumof 3 unverified Claims out at any given time, according to oneembodiment. When a user clicks on “Claim this Page” on Business Profilepage and/or a Residential Profile page, they can indicate the manner inwhich they intend to verify their claim, according to one embodiment.Benefits of Claiming a Business Page and/or Residential page may enablethe user to mark their page ‘Self-Editable only’ from the default ‘FullyEditable’ status, and see “Private” listings in a claimed neighborhoodaround the verified location, according to one embodiment. Each edit bya user on a Residential Profile page and/or a Business Profile page maybe made visible on the profile page, along with a date stamp, accordingto one embodiment.

Browse Function:

Based on the user's current location, the browse function may display alocal map populated with pushpins for location-specific information, anda news feed, made up of business page edits, public people page edits,any recent broadcasts, etc., according to one embodiment. The news feedmay show up on each Business Page and each Residential Page, based onactivity in the surrounding area, according to one embodiment. Secure aNeighborhood function: May allow the user to identify and “secure” aneighborhood, restricting certain types of access to verified residents,according to one embodiment. Add a Pushpin function: May allow anyregistered or verified user to add any type of Pushpin (as described inFIG. 36), to one embodiment.

In addition to the map, the search results page may display a news feed,made up of business page edits, public people page edits, any recentbroadcasts, and autogenerated alerts who has moved into theneighborhood, who has moved out of the neighborhood, any recent reviewsin the neighborhood, any pushpins placed in the immediate area, etc.,according to one embodiment. The news feed may prioritize entriesrelating to the search results, and will take into account privacypolicies and preferences, according to one embodiment.

Example Newsfeeds may include:

Joe Smith moved into the neighborhood in September 2013. Welcome Joe!Like Share; 4 neighbors (hyperlink) moved in to the Cupertino libraryneighborhood in July 2013. Like Share; 12 neighbors (hyperlink) verifiedin to the Cupertino library neighborhood in July 2013. Like Share; RajAbhyanker invited Paul Smith, a guest to the Cupertino neighborhood. Rajindicates Paul is a friend from college looking to move into theneighborhood. Welcome Paul!; Raj Abhyanker posted a Nissan Leaf for rent$35 a day, in mountain view Rent now. Like Share

This content may feed each Profile Page and helps to increase SearchEngine value for content on the site, according to one embodiment.Alerts may be created and curated (prioritized, filtered) automaticallyand/or through crowdsourcing, to keep each page vibrant and activelyupdating on a regular basis (ideally once a day or more), according toone embodiment.

A Multi-Family Residence page will display a list of residents in theentire building, according to one embodiment. Clicking on any residentwill display a Single Family Residence page corresponding to theindividual living unit where that person resides, according to oneembodiment.

For example, suppose that John Smith and Jane Smith live in apartment 12of a large building. Their names are included in the list of residents.When a user clicks on either John Smith or Jane Smith, we will display a“Single Family Residence” page showing both John and Jane, just as ifapartment 12 was a separate structure, according to one embodiment.

The broadcast feature (e.g., associated with the neighborhood broadcastdata and generated by the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of the socialcommunity module 2906) may be a “Radio” like function that uses themobile device's current geospatial location to send out information toneighbors around the present geospatial location of the user, accordingto one embodiment. Broadcasts may be posted to neighbor pages in thegeospatial vicinity (e.g., in the same neighborhood) on public andprivate pages in the geospatial social network, according to oneembodiment. These broadcasts may enable any user, whether they live in aneighborhood or not to communicate their thoughts to those that live orwork (or have claimed) a profile in the neighborhood around where thebroadcaster is physically at, regardless of where the broadcaster lives,according to one embodiment. Broadcasts can be audio, video, pictures,and or text, according to one embodiment. For accountability, thebroadcaster may be a verified user and their identity made public to allusers who receive the broadcast in one embodiment.

This means that the broadcast feature may be restricted to be used onlyby devices (e.g., mobile phones) that have a GPS chip (or othergeolocation device) that an identify a present location of where thebroadcast is originating from, according to one embodiment. Thebroadcast may be sent to all users who have claimed a profile in the geospatial vicinity where the broadcast originates, according to oneembodiment. This can either be broadcast live to whoever is “tuned” into a broadcast of video, audio, picture, and text in their neighborhood,or can be posted on each users profile if they do not hear the broadcastto the neighborhood in a live mode in one embodiment.

When a broadcast is made neighbors, around where the broadcast is made,they may receive a message that says something like:

Raj Abhyanker, a user in Menlo Park just broadcast “Japanese culturalprogram” video from the Cupertino Union church just now. Watch, Listen,View

This broadcast may be shared with neighbors around Menlo park, and or inCupertino. This way, Raj's neighbors and those in Cupertino can knowwhat is happening in their neighborhoods, according to one embodiment.In one embodiment, the broadcast only goes to one area (Cupertino orMenlo park in the example above).

Broadcasts could be constrained to devices that have geospatial accuracyof present location and a current only (mobile devices for example).Otherwise, broadcasts won't mean much, according to one embodiment(would otherwise be just like thoughts/video upload without this).Broadcasts shouldn't be confused with ‘upload videos’, according to oneembodiment. Different concepts. Why? Broadcasts have an accuracy of timeand location that cannot be altered by a user, according to oneembodiment, Hence, mobile is the most likely medium for this not desktopcomputer, according to one embodiment. We should not let the user settheir own location for broadcasts (like other pushpin types), accordingto one embodiment. Also time is fixed, according to one embodiment.Fixing and not making these two variables editable give users confidencethat the broadcast was associated with a particular time and place, andcreates a very unique feature, according to one embodiment. For example,it would be not useful if the broadcast is untrusted as to location oforigination, according to one embodiment. E.g., I broadcast when I amsomewhere only about the location I am at, according to one embodiment.

Broadcasts are different that other pushpins because location of where abroadcast, and time of broadcast is

*current location* and *current time*, according to one embodiment. Theyare initiated wherever a broadcaster is presently at, and added to thenews feed in the broadcasters neighborhood and in the area wherever abroadcaster is presently at, according to one embodiment.

Broadcast rules may include:

1. If I post a Broadcast in my secured neighborhood, only my neighborscan see it, according to one embodiment.

2. If I post a Broadcast in different secured neighborhood then my own,my neighbors can see it (e.g., unless I turn this off in my privacysetting) and neighbors in the secured neighborhood can see it (e.g.,default not turn-offable, but I can delete my broadcast), according toone embodiment.

3. If I post a Broadcast in different unsecured neighborhood then myown, my neighbors can see it (unless I turn this off in my privacysetting) and the broadcast is publicly visible on user pages of publicuser profiles in the unsecured neighborhood until profiles are claimedand/or the neighborhood is secured, according to one embodiment.

4. If an outsider in a secure neighborhood posts a broadcast in mysecure neighborhood, it's not public, according to one embodiment.

5. If an outsider in a unsecure neighborhood posts a broadcast in mysecure neighborhood, the system does not post on profiles in hisunsecure neighborhood (to prevent stalking, burglary), but does post inmy secure neighborhood, according to one embodiment.

Privacy settings. For each verified residential or business location,the user may set Privacy to Default, Public, Private, or Inactive,according to one embodiment. The Default setting (which is the default)means that the profile will be public, until the neighborhood issecured; in a secured neighborhood, the profile will be Private,according to one embodiment. By changing this setting, the user mayforce the profile to be Public or Private, regardless of whether theneighborhood is secured, according to one embodiment.

For each verified residential location, the user may set edit access toGroup Editable or Self Editable, according to one embodiment.

Residential Privacy example. The residential profiles can be: Public:anyone can search, browse, or view the user profile, according to oneembodiment. This is the default setting for unsecured neighborhoods(initially, all the content on the site), according to one embodiment.Private: only people in my neighborhood can search, browse, or view theuser's profile, according to one embodiment. This is the default forsecured neighborhoods, according to one embodiment. Inactive: nobody cansearch, browse, or view the profile, even within a secured neighborhood,according to one embodiment. A user may have at least one active (publicor private), verified profile in order to have edit capabilities,according to one embodiment; if the user makes all profiles inactive,that user is treated (for edit purposes) as an unverified user,according to one embodiment.

Verified users can edit the privacy setting for their profile andoverride the default, according to one embodiment. Group Editable:anyone with access to a profile based on the privacy roles above canedit the profile, according to one embodiment. This is the defaultsetting, according to one embodiment Self Editable, only the verifiedowner of a profile can edit that profile, according to one embodiment.

Exceptions Guest User. A verified user in another neighborhood is given“Guest” access to a neighborhood for a maximum of 340 days by a verifieduser in the neighborhood in which the guest access is given, accordingto one embodiment. In effect, the guest becomes a member of theneighborhood for a limited period, according to one embodiment. Friend.When a user has self-elected being friends with someone in a differentneighborhood, they can view each other's profiles only (not theirneighbors), according to one embodiment. One way for a user to verify alocation is to submit a scanned utility bill, according to oneembodiment.

When a moderator selects the Verify Utility Bills function, the screenwill display a list of items for processing, according to oneembodiment. Accept the utility bill as a means of verification,according to one embodiment. This will verify the user's location, andwill also generate an e-mail to the user, according to one embodiment.Or Decline the utility bill as a means of verification, according to oneembodiment. There will be a drop-down list to allow the moderator toselect a reason, according to one embodiment; this reason will beincluded in an e-mail message to the user. Reasons may include: Namedoes not match, address does not match, name/address can't be read, nota valid utility bill, according to one embodiment.

In one embodiment, a method includes associating a verified registereduser (e.g., a verified registered user 4110 of FIG. 41A-B, a verifiedregistered user 4110 of FIG. 16) with a user profile, associating theuser profile (e.g., the user profile 4000 of FIG. 40A) with a specificgeographic location, generating a map (e.g., a map 1701 of FIG. 17)concurrently displaying the user profile and/or the specific geographiclocation and simultaneously generating, in the map (e.g., the map 1701of FIG. 17), claimable profiles (e.g., a claimable profile 4006 of FIG.40A-12B, a claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A, a claimable profile 1704of FIG. 17) associated with different geographic locations surroundingthe specific geographic location associated with the user profile (e.g.,the user profile 4000 of FIG. 40A).

In another embodiment, a system includes a plurality of neighborhoods(e.g., the neighborhood(s) 2902A-N of FIG. 29) having registered usersand/or unregistered users of a global neighborhood environment (e.g., aprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29), a social community module (e.g., asocial community module 2906 of FIG. 29, a social community module 2906of FIG. 30) of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29) to generate a building creator (e.g., throughbuilding builder builder 3000 of FIG. 30) in which the registered usersmay create and/or modify empty claimable profiles (e.g., the claimableprofile 4006 of FIG. 40A-12B, the claimable profile 4102 of FIG. 41A,the claimable profile 1704 of FIG. 17), building layouts, social networkpages, and/or floor levels structures housing residents and businessesin the neighborhood (e.g., the neighborhood 2900 of FIG. 29), aclaimable module (e.g., a claimable module 2910 of FIG. 29, a claimablemodule 2910 of FIG. 32) of the global neighborhood environment (e.g.,the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) to enable the registered users tocreate a social network page of themselves, and/or to edit informationassociated with the unregistered users identifiable through a viewing ofphysical properties in which the unregistered users reside when theregistered users have knowledge of characteristics associated with theunregistered users.

In addition, the system may include search module (e.g., a search module2908 of FIG. 29, a search module 2908 of FIG. 31) of the globalneighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) toenable a people search (e.g., information stored in people database 3016of FIG. 30), a business search (e.g., information stored in businessdatabase 3020 of FIG. 30), and a category search of any data in thesocial community module (a social community module 2906 of FIG. 29, asocial community module 2906 of FIG. 30) and/or to enable embedding ofany content in the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29) in other search engines, blogs, social networks,professional networks and/or static websites, a commerce module (e.g., acommerce module 2912 of FIG. 29, a commerce module 2912 of FIG. 33) ofthe global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 ofFIG. 29).

The system may also provide an advertisement system to a business (e.g.,through business display advertisement module 3302 of FIG. 33) whopurchase their location in the global neighborhood environment (e.g.,the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) in which the advertisement isviewable concurrently with a map indicating a location of the business,and in which revenue is attributed to the global neighborhoodenvironment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) when theregistered users and/or the unregistered users click-in on asimultaneously displayed data of the advertisement along with the mapindicating a location of the business, a map module (a map module 2914of FIG. 29) of the global neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacyserver 2900 of FIG. 29) to include a map data associated with asatellite data which serves as a basis of rendering the map in theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29) and/or which includes a simplified map generator (e.g., simplifiedmap generator module 3402 of FIG. 34) which can transform the map to afewer color and location complex form using a parcel data whichidentifies at least some residence, civic, and/or business locations inthe satellite data.

In yet another embodiment, a global neighborhood environment (e.g., aprivacy server 2900 of FIG. 29) includes a first instruction set toenable a social network to reside above a map data, in which the socialnetwork may be associated with specific geographical locationsidentifiable in the map data, a second instruction set integrated withthe first instruction set to enable the users (e.g., the user 2916 ofFIG. 29) of the social network to create profiles of other peoplethrough a forum which provides a free form of expression of the userssharing information about any entities and/or people residing in anygeographical location identifiable in the satellite map data, and/or toprovide a technique of each of the users (e.g., the user 2916 of FIG.29) to claim a geographic location (a geographic location 4004 of FIG.40A) to control content in their respective claimed geographic locationsand a third instruction set integrated with the first instruction setand/or the second instruction set to enable searching of people in theglobal neighborhood environment (e.g., the privacy server 2900 of FIG.29) by indexing each of the data shared by the users (e.g., the user2916 of FIG. 29) of any of the people and entities residing in anygeographic location (a geographic location 4004 of FIG. 40A).

An example embodiment will now be described. A person confronted with anemergency situation (e.g. the user 2916, the verified user 3506) maysend a broadcast on a geospatially constrained social network (e.g.Fatdoor.com, Nextdoor.com). To accomplish this broadcast the person maygenerate the broadcast data 2902 which will be sent to the privacyserver 2900 to generate the notification data. The notification data mayinclude any information contained in the broadcast data 2902 such as thegeospatial location, time, date, a textual description and livebroadcast of audio and/or video generated by the user 2916. Thenotification data may then be radially distributed in the area with athreshold radial distance of the epicenter that may be the location ofthe device observing the emergency. The person may be hoping forimmediate assistance from other people living nearby (e.g. therecipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhood communication system2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29)) to help confront the emergencysituation. Rather than attempt to contact those living nearbyindividually, the person experiencing the emergency may broadcast thenotification to proximate neighbors simultaneously, maximizing thechance that a relevant person will appreciate, view and/or respond tothe broadcast.

Additionally, for example, the broadcast may even occur automaticallyupon the dialing of neighborhood services as to allow concurrentnotification of nearby recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhoodcommunication system 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) withoutdetracting from a conventional mode of contacting emergency services(e.g. the emergency call 4000). The emergency call 4000 may be monitoredby the privacy server 2900 to automatically generate the neighborhoodbroadcast data, including live audio of the call which the privacyserver 2900 may use to create geographic location 4004. The geographiclocation 4004, along with metadata from the call that may include thegeospatial location of the mobile device on which the call was made maythen be broadcast according to the social community module 2906 tonearby recipients (e.g., other users of the neighborhood communicationsystem 2950 such as neighbors 2928 of FIG. 29). The recipients (e.g.,other users of the neighborhood communication system 2950 such asneighbors 2928 of FIG. 29) may then be notified of the emergencysituation and/or prompted to respond without detracting from a call tothe neighborhood services.

For example, in an elementary school setting (e.g., the threshold radialdistance may be set to a boundaries of the elementary school using theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of the social community module 2906). Aprincipal of the Sacred Brooks Elementary School Mr. Higgins may heargunshots that he believes are coming from an on-campus location. Screamsof panicked teachers and children may soon follow. Mr. Higgins may usehis mobile device (e.g., his cellular phone) to call an emergency number‘911’. Calling this emergency number ‘911’ may also trigger an automaticalert to the privacy server 2900 to generate the neighborhood broadcastdata (or alternatively Mr. Higgins may separately send an emergencybroadcast (e.g., a neighborhood broadcast using the Bezier curvealgorithm 3040 of the social community module 2906) using the Fatdoormobile application). All teachers at the school and parents in adjacentneighborhoods may be instantly notified (e.g., through the creation ofthe neighborhood broadcast data distributed as the notification data).

Wilson Brighton at the Fatdoor Emergency Center may receive a messagethat there is an emergency at the Sacred Brooks Elementary school.Wilson Brighton may open up a communication channel with Mr. Brightonand invite adjacent neighborhoods and medical professionals havingclaimed profiles and/or living in the area to help. In addition, Wilsonmay merge the emergency transmissions into a single session so that Mr.Higgins initial emergency broadcast (e.g., a neighborhood broadcastusing the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of the social community module2906) is automatically merged with related other broadcasts by teachers,parents, staff, and children at the school. This single thread ofbroadcasts related to the Sacred Brooks Elementary school may beprovided as live-feed emergency broadcast (e.g., a neighborhoodbroadcast using the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of the social communitymodule 2906) s to all users of Fatdoor.com having a claimed profile(e.g., a home address and/or a work address) within the threshold radialdistance from Mr. Higgins (e.g., the epicenter of the broadcast). Evenwhen parents are at work, they may still receive the broadcast live ontheir mobile devices because they have downloaded the Fatdoorapplication and have claimed their home/business address around alocation of the emergency.

As a result, local neighborhood parents may arrive from their worklocations, even when they work at a different location than where theylive. This may save lives at the Sacred Brooks elementary school becausehelp may arrive sooner.

For example, one recipient of Mr. Higgin's broadcast may be SamuelWilson (“Sam”), who has two children at Sacred Brooks Elementary School:John, a bright kindergartener 6, and Samantha, a talented artist of age10. Sam may be alerted even when he is at work on a construction site 6miles away from the Sacred Brooks Elementary School where John andSamatha are located. Sam may receive an alert on his mobile phone thatthere is an emergency in his neighborhood. Jumping into his truck, Sammay drive to the school to render assistance, tuning in to the livebroadcast as events unfold. Others may join in and as well andcommunicate and provide instructions and reassurance to Mr. Higgins andother broadcasters.

Nearby resident Chen Su, whose backyard fence adjoins the playground ofSacred Brooks, may also receive the broadcast. Chen may run outside andunlock his gate, opening it so that children may not be trapped in theplayground area. Chen may then send a separate broadcast a new escaperoute has been established. Mr. Higgins may gather as many nearbychildren as he can and lead them safety through Chen's gate.

Henry Stewart, a decorated army veteran who lives a few blocks away fromSacred Brooks Elementary, may also receive the broadcast. Alarmed forthe safety of the children, and knowing that it may take the policeseveral minutes to arrive at the school, Henry may decide that it willmaximize the children chance at survival if he is the first responder.Equipping his .22 caliber rifle, he may run to the school and distractor defeat the shooter in time to save many lives.

Similarly, Dr. Juan Sanchez, M.D. may have an office in the neighborhoodimmediately adjacent to Sacred Brooks. Dr. Sanchez and his team ofmedical professionals may rush to the scene, engaging in bi-directionalcommunications with the school staff during the live broadcast event sothat he knows exactly which building to arrive at. Calming victims andputting pressure on wounds until ambulances arrive, Dr. Sanchez and histeam may save the lives of wounded children.

When the incident is over, many people may want to recreate the eventsfor journalistic or evidentiary purposes. They may also want to studygenerally the flow of information during emergencies in theirneighborhood, and decide how their school could better prepare.Similarly, they may want to ensure they are part of the broadcast systemin cast there are future incidents. Persons who have not yet claimedtheir verified profiles in the area surrounding Sacred Brooks ElementarySchool on Fatdoor may go online and find profiles pre-seeded with dataassociated with their address. Those pre-seeded profiles may have beenupdated with local broadcasts. These people may be able to claim theirprofile and have access to previous broadcasts, including thoseassociated with the school shootings. This may help them to betterprepare for the safety of their children.

Because of the technologies described herein, the neighborhood, city,and country is a better place because emergency response teams aresupplemented with information from those who have a claimed geo-spatiallocation around a neighborhood in which there is trouble. In addition,evidence may be formed that is admissible to prove guilt of the gunmen,defeat a defense of insanity, or impose a maximum sentence.

In another example, a user Bob Jones may be walking around Menlo Park,Calif. when he observes a robber pull out a knife and threaten to harmPaula Nelson in a parking lot if she does not give the robber her carkeys. Bob may take out his mobile device and select the emergencylisting criteria “major violent crime” in the user interface of themobile application that communicates with the emergency response server.Bob may center his viewfinder on the unfolding robbery and select the“broadcast live” indicator on the user interface, as well as enteringthe brief description “Car jacking in progress” in a small data field.The broadcast data, including live video and audio, may be generated andsent to the emergency response server where it may be radiallydistributed to user profiles at a threshold radial distance from theepicenter centered on Bob's mobile device. Because Bob specified theemergency as a “major violent crime” its threshold radial distance maybe larger than if Bob had selected mere “vandalism.”

To further illustrate, several relevant parties may receive thebroadcast. Patrick Sloan, an off-duty police detective, is alerted toBob Jones' broadcast data by a notification sent to his mobile device.Patrick, looks his mobile device to read Bob's brief description, andnotices that the event is only “0.3 miles away.” Patrick selects the“respond indicator” to let Bob know he is on his way, and also selects“dial broadcaster” to establish a bi-directional communication with Bob.A map on Patrick's mobile device and a set of directions may showPatrick the fastest way to travel to the epicenter, along with warningPatrick when he is within 2900 yards of the emergency.

Jason Steinbrenner, a retired surgeon, also receives Bob's broadcast.Jason opts to view Bob's live video feed. Jason notices that the robberseverely lacerates Paula with his knife as he grabs Paula's keys away.Jason sees that he is only 0.7 miles away from the emergency and alsoselects the “respond indicator” to let Bob know he will arrive shortly.Through his user interface he sends Bob a text message “I'm a doctor.”

Jane Doe, a resident living within the threshold radial distance alsoreceives Bob's broadcast. Jane, while viewing Bob's live feed, takesnote of the vehicle make, model and color. As the robber gets in Paula'scar and drives away, out of Bob's view, Jane goes to her apartmentwindow and looks outside. A minute later, Jane sees the woman's car,driven by the robber, headed down her street, trying to keep a lowprofile. Jane generates her own broadcast including a video feed of thecar stopped at a stoplight. Patrick Sloan, driving his car to reachBob's location, receives Jane's broadcast. Patrick, now using Jane'sepicenter, redirects his path to intercept the robber. Using Jane's livevideo broadcast to remotely view the intersection, Patrick is able tosafely approach the robber from behind and surprise him at thestoplight, capturing him.

Emergency services, which may subscribe to all emergency broadcast(e.g., a neighborhood broadcast using the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 ofthe social community module 2906) s within the threshold radial distanceof the epicenter, may also have been notified. The police department andan ambulance arrive after Patrick catches the robber and Jasonstabilizes the woman.

Bob and Jane may receive a summary of their broadcast data that showsthem how many recipients received his broadcast, the emergency servicescontacted, and who was responding. Their broadcast submissions may alsoinclude a unique identifies such that the live video, recorded by theemergency response server, which may be later retrieved to provideevidence against the robber with a unique identification code.

Because of the emergency response sever described in FIGS. 1-11, Jasonwas able to arrive on the scene faster than emergency services, puttingpressure on Paula's wound to prevent detrimental bleeding. The broadcastsystem also allowed Patrick to catch the perpetrator both because he wasa concerned local resident and because other nearby residents, such asJane, were alerted by Bob's original broadcast and were thereforeprepared to provide additional helpful broadcasts.

Bob and Jane may live in the Lorelei neighborhood of Menlo Park, and forthis reason receive the emergency broadcast data (e.g., a neighborhoodbroadcast generated by the social community module 2906). If Bob createsan emergency broadcast, Bob may choose to restrict dissemination of hisemergency broadcast just to the Lorelei neighborhood because it is an‘active’ neighborhood around where Bob lives. Particularly, a minimumnumber of Bob's neighbors in the Lorelei neighborhood, such as 10neighbors in the Lorelei neighborhood, may have signed up and verifiedtheir profiles through an online neighborhood social network (e.g.,Fatdoor.com). If Bob is the first user that creates a private networkfor his neighborhood (e.g., a ‘founding member’), he may need to drawgeospatial boundaries and/or claim geospatial boundaries around hisneighborhood and invite a threshold number of neighbors (e.g., 10neighbors) to activate it. An amount of time for Bob to invite andactivate his neighborhood may be limited (e.g., 21 days). However, Bobmay request an extension of time from the privacy server 2900 if Bobneeds more time to invite users, and the privacy server 2900 may grantthis extra time. In other words, if Bob is a founding member, he mayhave the ability to define the neighborhood boundary and choose theneighborhood name.

The privacy server 2900 may internally make corrections to either theboundaries or name that Bob set based on feedback from other neighborsand/or based on internal policies. These internal policies may include apreference for a use of official names for a community (e.g., based onlocal thoroughfares, a nearby park, or landmark for inspiration), aneighborhood name that is short and sweet (e.g., eliminating unnecessarywords like city, state, neighbors, neighborhood, HOA, friends, etc.),with correct capitalization (e.g., to ensure that a first letter of eachword is capitalized), and/or use of spaces between each word in aneighborhood name. In one embodiment, Bob may designate neighborhood‘leads’ who can adjust boundaries of their neighborhood through anadjust boundaries tool. Bob may be part of an elite group ofneighborhood ‘leads’ who keep the privacy server 2900 operating smoothlyby organizing information and posting neighborhood-wide information. Theneighborhood leads like Bob may have special privileges such as removinginappropriate messages, adjusting neighborhood boundaries, verifyingunverified members, editing the about section on a neighborhood feed,and/or promoting other members to become neighborhood leads.

Bob and his neighbors may have each verified their addresses through apostcard verification system in which they received a postcard at theirhome with an access code that permits each of them to access theirprivate Lorelei neighborhood community information including emergencybroadcast alerts in the online neighborhood social network (e.g., theFatmail postcard system through which an access code may have beenreceived at a respective Lorelei home that uniquely identifies andverifies a home in the Lorelei neighborhood). Bob may have invited athreshold number (e.g., 10) of his Lorelei neighbors prior to theLorelei neighborhood becoming active. Bob may choose to disseminate hisemergency broadcast data to a neighborhood adjacent to Lorelei, such asMenlo Park downtown (e.g., using the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of thesocial community module 2906). Optionally, Bob may choose to restricthis emergency broadcast data just to Lorelei neighbors (e.g., using theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of the social community module 2906). Inother words, users of the neighborhood social network in an entirelydifferent neighborhood, such as the Financial District neighborhood ofSan Francisco (about 20 miles away) may not be able to access theemergency broadcast data that Bob generates.

For example, the emergency broadcast data may be disseminated toadjacent neighborhoods that have been claimed by different users in amanner such that the emergency broadcast data is optionally disseminatedto the surrounding claimed neighborhoods based on Bob's preference.

It will be understood with those skill in the art that in someembodiments, the social community module 2906 may restrict disseminationof broadcast data by verified users to claimed neighborhoods in aprivate neighborhood social network (e.g. the privacy server 2900 may bea private social network, the neighborhood curation system describedherein may also be part of the private neighborhood social network) inwhich the broadcaster resides (e.g., has a home) using the radialalgorithm (e.g., the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30). Theprivacy server 2900 may include online communities designed to easilycreate private websites to facilitate communication among neighbors andbuild stronger neighborhoods (e.g., to help neighbors build stronger andsafer neighborhoods).

Further, it follows that the threshold radial distance generated throughthe Bezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 may take on a variety ofshapes other than purely circular and is defined to encompass a varietyof shapes based on associated geographic, historical, political and/orcultural connotations of associated boundaries of neighborhoods and/oras defined by a city, municipality, government, and/or data provider(e.g., Maponics®, Urban Mapping®), in one embodiment. For example, thethreshold radial distance may be based on a particular context, such asa school boundary, a neighborhood boundary, a college campus boundary, asubdivision boundary, a parcel boundary, and/or a zip code boundary. Inan alternate embodiment, a first claiming user 2916 in a particularneighborhood may draw a polygon to indicate a preferred boundary.

In an alternative embodiment, the threshold radial distance generatedusing the Bezier curve algorithm 3040 by the privacy server 2900 may berestricted to a shared apartment building (e.g., and/or an officebuilding). In addition, it will be understood with those skilled in theart that the privacy server 2900 may be operate as a function of theprivacy server 2900 (e.g., a neighborhood social network).

In addition, it will be understood that in some embodiments, theneighborhood broadcast data is generated by the police department (e.g.,and/or others of the neighborhood services) in the form of crime alerts,health alerts, fire alerts, and other emergency alerts and provided as afeed (e.g., a Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feed) to the privacy server2900 for distribution to relevant ones of the claimed neighborhoods inthe privacy server 2900. It will be understood that the neighborhoodbroadcast data may appear in a ‘feed’ provided to users of the privacyserver 2900 (e.g., a private social network for neighbors) on theirprofile pages based on access control privileges set by the socialcommunity module using the Bezier curve algorithm 3040. For example,access to the neighborhood broadcast data may be limited to just aclaimed neighborhood (e.g., as defined by neighborhood boundaries)and/or optionally adjacent neighborhoods.

In one embodiment, the privacy server 2900 may provide policedepartments and other municipal agencies with a separate login in whichthey can invite neighbors themselves, provide for a virtual neighborhoodwatch and emergency preparedness groups, and conduct high value crimeand safety related discussions from local police and fire officialswithout requiring any technical integration. This may provide policedepartments and municipalities with a single channel to easily broadcastinformation across neighborhoods that they manage, and receive and trackneighborhood level membership and activity to identify leaders of aneighborhood.

For example, communications defined from one broadcasting user to anadjacent neighborhood o may involve sharing information about asuspicious activity that might affect several neighborhoods, explainingabout a lost pet that might have wandered into an adjoiningneighborhood, to rally support from neighbors from multipleneighborhoods to address civic issues, to spread the word about eventslike local theater production or neighborhood garage sales, and/or toask for advice or recommendations from the widest range of people in acommunity). In one embodiment, the privacy server 2900 may preventself-promotional messages that are inappropriate (e.g., a user sendingsuch messages may be suspended from the geospatially constrained socialnetwork using the tagging module 3004. In one embodiment, the user 2916may personalize nearby neighborhoods so that the user can choose exactlywhich nearby neighborhoods (if any) they wish to communicate with. Theuser 2916 may be able to flag a neighborhood feeds from adjacentneighborhoods. In addition, leaders from a particular neighborhood maybe able to communicate privately with leaders of an adjoiningneighborhood to plan and organize on behalf of an entire constituency.Similarly, users 2906 may be able to filter feeds to only displaymessages from the neighborhood that they reside in. The user 2916 may beable to restrict posts (e.g., pushpin placements) only in theneighborhood they are presently in. In one embodiment, nearby neighborsmay (or may not) be able to access profiles of adjacent neighborhoods.

It will also be understood that in some embodiments, that users may be‘verified through alternate means, for example through a utility billverification (e.g., to verify that a user's address on a utility billmatches the residential address they seek to claim), a credit cardverification (e.g., or debit card verification), a phone numberverification (e.g., reverse phone number lookup), a privately-publishedaccess code (e.g., distributed to a neighborhood association president,and/or distributed at a neighborhood gathering), and a neighbor vouchingmethod (e.g., in which an existing verified neighbor ‘vouches’ for a newneighbor as being someone that they personally know to be living in aneighborhood.

In one embodiment, the privacy server 2900 ensures a secure and trustedenvironment for a neighborhood website by requiring all members toverify their address. In this embodiment, verification may provideassurance the assurance that new members are indeed residing at theaddress they provided when registering for an account in the privacyserver 2900. Once a neighborhood has launched out of pilot status, onlymembers who have verified their address may be able access to theirneighborhood website content.

It will be understood that among the various ways of verifying anaddress, a user of the privacy server 2900 may uses the followingmethods to verify the address of every member:

A. Postcard. The privacy server 2900 can send a postcard to the addresslisted on an account of the user 2916 with a unique code printed on it(e.g., using the Fatmail postcard campaign). The code may allow the user2916 to log in and verify their account.

B. Credit or debit card. The privacy server 2900 may be able to verify ahome address through a credit or debit card billing address. In oneembodiment, billing address may be confirmed without storing personallyidentifiable information and/or charging a credit card.

C. Home phone. If a user 2916 has a landline phone, the user may receivean automated phone call from the privacy server 2900 that may providewith a unique code to verify an account of the user 2916.

D. Neighborhood leader. A neighborhood leader of the geo-spatiallyconstrained social network can use a verify neighbors feature of theprivacy server 2900 to vouch for and verify neighbors.

E. Mobile phone. A user 2916 may receive a call to a mobile phoneassociated with the user 2916 to verify their account.

F. Neighbor invitations. A neighbor who is a verified member of theprivacy server 2900 can vouch for, and may invite another neighbor tojoin the privacy server 2900. Accepting such an invitation may allow theuser 2916 to join the privacy server 2900 as a verified member,according to one embodiment.

H. Social Security Number (SSN). The privacy server 2900 can verify ahome address when the user 2916 provides the last 4 digits of a SSN(e.g., not stored by the privacy server 2900 for privacy reasons).

It will be also understood that in a preferred embodiment neighborhoodboundaries are defined by the social community module 2906 using theBezier curve algorithm 3040 of FIG. 30 may be constrained to work inneighborhoods having a threshold number of homes (e.g., 10 homes,alternatively 2900 homes in a neighborhood) and more (e.g., up tothousands of homes) as this may be needed to reach the critical mass ofactive posters that is needed to help the privacy server 2900 succeed.In one embodiment, ‘groups’ may be creatable in smaller neighborhoodshaving fewer than the threshold number of homes for communications inmicro-communities within a claimed neighborhood.

It will also be appreciated that in some embodiments, a mobile device(e.g., the device 1806, the device 1808 of FIG. 18) may be a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, and/or a non-transitory broadcastingmodule. In addition, it will be understood that the prepopulated data(e.g., preseeded data) described herein may not be created through datalicensed from others, but rather may be user generated content oforganically created profiles in the geo-spatial social network createdby different users who have each verified their profiles.

Although the present embodiments have been described with reference tospecific example embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.For example, the various devices, modules, analyzers, generators, etc.described herein may be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry(e.g., CMOS based logic circuitry), firmware, software and/or anycombination of hardware, firmware, and/or software (e.g., embodied in amachine readable medium). For example, the various electrical structureand methods may be embodied using transistors, logic gates, andelectrical circuits (e.g., application specific integrated ASICcircuitry and/or in Digital Signal; Processor DSP circuitry).

For example, a neighborhood social network such as Fatdoor.com (e.g., orNextdoor.com) may be committed to enabling people to communicate andstay connected wherever they go with the neighborhoods and neighborsthat they care about (e.g., such as the neighborhood associated withtheir residential address). Through this, Fatdoor may enable users toshare their verified residential address and neighborhood social graph(e.g., connections with other neighbors, activities in their claimedneighborhood etc.) information with the third party websites andapplications they choose. Hundreds of companies may leverage theseFatdoor neighborhood graph APIs, allowing users to dynamically connecttheir residential address identity information from Fatdoor, such asbasic profile, connected neighbors, photos information and more, tothird party websites, as well as desktop and mobile applications.

In another example, Fatdoor Platform may allow third party developers tobuild rich social applications within Fatdoor. A feature on the FatdoorPlatform called “Fatdoor Connect” may allow users to “connect” theirFatdoor identity, residential address, neighborhood groups, neighborhoodpolls, neighborhood friends, neighbors and privacy settings to any site.This will now enable third party websites to implement and offer evenmore features of Fatdoor Platform off of Fatdoor. The Fatdoor Platformmay provide a set of APIs and tools which enable third-party developersto integrate with the “neighborhood graph”—whether through applicationson Fatdoor.com or external websites and devices.

Fatdoor Connect may enable a number of new innovations by ensuring thatneighborhood addresses are verified. These new features may enable thirdparties to cost effectively develop websites and/or mobile applicationswith verified address information through:

Trusted Neighborhood Authentication.

Users may be able to connect their Fatdoor account with any partnerwebsite using a trusted neighborhood authentication method. Whether atlogin, or anywhere else a developer would like to add social context,the user will be able to authenticate and connect their account in atrusted environment. The user will have total control of the permissionsgranted.

Real Address-Based Identity.

Fatdoor users represent themselves with their real names, verifiedaddresses, verified neighborhoods, and real identities. With FatdoorConnect, users can bring their real identity information with themwherever they go on the Web, including: basic profile information,residential address, neighborhood social graph, profile picture, name,neighbors, neighborhood photos, neighborhood events, neighborhoodgroups, and more.

Neighborhood & Neighbor Access.

Users can count on Fatdoor to stay connected to their neighbors andneighborhood. With Fatdoor Connect, users can take their neighbors andneighborhood with them wherever they go on the Web. Developers will beable to add rich social context to their websites. Developers will evenbe able to dynamically show which of their real life neighbors alreadyhave accounts on their sites. Log in with Fatdoor is a set of APIs fromFatdoor that enable Fatdoor members to log onto third-party websites,applications, mobile devices and gaming systems with their Fatdooridentity.

While logged in, users can connect with neighbors via these media andpost information and updates to their Fatdoor profile. Developers canuse these services to help their users connect and share with theirFatdoor neighbors on and off of Fatdoor and increase engagement fortheir website or application.

Dynamic Privacy.

As a user moves around the open Web, their privacy settings will follow,ensuring that users' information and privacy rules are alwaysup-to-date. For example, if a user changes their profile picture, orremoves a neighbor connection, this will be automatically updated in theexternal website. These are just a few steps Fatdoor may be taking tomake the vision of neighborhood connectedness a reality for usersworldwide. We believe the next evolution of neighborhood connectednessis about much more than data. It's about giving users the ability totake their neighborhood identity and neighbors with them around the Web,while being able to trust that their information is always up to dateand always protected by their privacy settings. Fatdoor may work withother leading identity providers to develop the best policies andstandards for enabling the portability and protection of users'neighborhood information.

For example, the social community module 2906, the search module 2908,the claimable module 2910, the commerce module 2912, the map module2914, the building builder module 3000, the N^(th) degree module, thetagging module 3004, the verify module 3006, the groups generator module3008, the pushpin module 3010, the profile module 3012, the announcemodule 3014, the friend finder module 311022, the neighbor-neighbor helpmodule 3024, the business search module 3102, the communicate module3106, the directory assistance module 3108, the embedding module 3110,the no-match module 3112, the range selector module 3114, the user-placeclaimable module, the user-user claimable module 3202, the user-neighborclaimable module 3204, the user-business claimable module 3206, thereviews module 3208, the defamation prevention module 3210, theclaimable social network conversion module 3212, the claim module 3214,the data segment module 3216, the dispute resolution module 3218, theresident announce payment module 3300, the business displayadvertisement module 3302, the geo-position advertisement ranking module3304, the content syndication module 3306, the text advertisement module3308, the community market place module 3310, the click-in trackingmodule 3312, the satellite data module 3400, the cartoon map convertermodule 3404, the profile pointer module 3406, the parcel module 3408 andthe occupant module 3410 of FIGS. 1-41 may be embodied through thesocial community circuit, the search circuit, the claimable circuit, thecommerce circuit, the map circuit, the building builder circuit, theN^(th) degree circuit, the tagging circuit, the verify circuit, thegroups circuit, the pushpin circuit, the profile circuit, the announcecircuit, the friends finder circuit, the neighbor-neighbor help circuit,the business search circuit, the communicate circuit, the embeddingcircuit, the no-match circuit, the range selector circuit, theuser-place claimable circuit, the user-user claimable circuit, theuser-neighbor claimable circuit, the user-business circuit, the reviewscircuit, the defamation prevention circuit, the claimable social networkconversion circuit, the claim circuit, the data segment circuit, thedispute resolution circuit, the resident announce payment circuit, thebusiness display advertisement circuit, the geo-position advertisementranking circuit, the content syndication circuit, the text advertisementcircuit, the community market place circuit, the click-in trackingcircuit, the satellite data circuit, the cartoon map converter circuit,the profile pointer circuit, the parcel circuit, the occupant circuitusing one or more of the technologies described herein.

In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations,processes, and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in amachine-readable medium and/or a machine accessible medium compatiblewith a data processing system (e.g., a computer system), and may beperformed in any order. Accordingly, the specification and drawings areto be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of organizing an online communitynetwork, comprising: obtaining a region on a geo-spatial map using aprocessor and a memory; obtaining a first subset of a plurality ofmembers of the online community network in a geo-spatial environmentassociated with the region on the geo-spatial map; determining a secondsubset of the plurality of members with a highest number of points fromthe first subset; creating a representative body from the second subset;enabling the representative body to manage a portion of the onlinecommunity network in the geo-spatial environment associated with theregion on the geo-spatial map; appointing a lead member user from therepresentative body from the second subset of the plurality of memberswith the highest number of points from the first subset based on anacceptance of the lead member; and providing additional accessprivileges to the lead member user in the online community network ofthe geo-spatial environment.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: verifying that each user of the community network lives at aresidence associated with a claimable residential address of thecommunity network formed through a social community module of a privacyserver using a processor and a memory; obtaining from each user of thecommunity network, using the processor of a computing device, memberdata associated with each user, the member data including an address;associating the address with a profile of each user; determining alocation of each user based on the member data; storing the member datain a database; obtaining a personal address privacy preference from eachuser, the personal address privacy preference specifying if the addressshould be displayed to other users; authenticating a particular user ofa third-party application as being a verified user of the neighborhoodcommunication system having a verified residential address in theneighborhood communication system; communicating a social graph of theparticular user based on the personal address privacy preference of theparticular user to the third-party application; and providing theverified residential address to the third-party application based on theauthentication of the particular user of the third-party application asbeing the verified user of the neighborhood communication system;applying an address verification algorithm associated with each user ofan online community associated with the community network using aprivacy server; generating a latitudinal data and a longitudinal dataassociated with each claimable residential address of the onlinecommunity associated with each user of the online community; determininga set of access privileges in the online community associated with eachuser of the online community by constraining access in the onlinecommunity based on a neighborhood boundary determined using a Beziercurve algorithm of the privacy server; transforming the claimableresidential address into a claimed address upon an occurrence of anevent; instantiating the event when a particular user is associated withthe claimable residential address based on a verification of theparticular user as living at a particular residential address associatedwith the claimable residential address using the privacy server;constraining the particular user to communicate through the onlinecommunity only with a set of neighbors having verified addresses usingthe privacy server; defining the set of neighbors as other users of theonline community that have each verified their addresses in the onlinecommunity using the privacy server and which have each claimedresidential addresses that are in a threshold radial distance from theclaimed address of the particular user; obtaining a plurality of votesfrom the first subset corresponding to an elected official of theregion; determining one of the second subset with a highest number ofthe plurality of votes; and selecting the one of the second subset asthe elected official.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the electedofficial is at least one of a neighborhood lead of the online community,a mayor of the online community, a governor of the online community, apresident of the online community, and a secretary-general of the onlinecommunity.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the region is at least oneof a city, a county, a state, a country, a group of countries, acontinent, and a planet.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein therepresentative body is created based on an activity level of each of thefirst subset.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first subsetcomprises a plurality of elected officials from a plurality of divisionswithin the region.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the representativebody is created on a periodic basis.
 8. A machine-readablenon-transitory medium embodying a set of instructions that, whenexecuted by a machine, causes the machine to perform the method of:obtaining a region on a geo-spatial map; obtaining a first subset of aplurality of members of a community network in a geo-spatial environmentassociated with the region on the geo-spatial map; determining a secondsubset of the plurality of members with a highest number of points fromthe first subset; creating a representative body from the second subset;enabling the representative body to manage a portion of the communitynetwork in the geo-spatial environment associated with the region on thegeo-spatial map; designating a lead member user from the representativebody from the second subset of the plurality of members with the highestnumber of points from the first subset based on an acceptance of thelead member; and granting additional access privileges to the leadmember user in the online community network of the geo-spatialenvironment.
 9. A system, comprising: a member repository databasecomprising a plurality of members; a geo-spatial repository databasecomprising a plurality of regions on a geo-spatial map; and a leadmanagement server configured to: obtain a first subset of the pluralityof members associated with one of the plurality of regions; determine asecond subset of the plurality of members with a highest number ofpoints from the first subset; create a representative body from thesecond subset; enable the representative body to manage a portion of thecommunity network associated with the one of the plurality of regions;appoint a lead member user from the representative body from the secondsubset of the plurality of members with the highest number of pointsfrom the first subset based on an acceptance of the lead member; andprovide additional access privileges to the lead member user in theonline community network of the geo-spatial environment.
 10. The systemof claim 9, further comprising: a privacy server: to verify that eachuser of the community network lives at a residence associated with aclaimable residential address of the community network formed through asocial community module of a privacy server using a processor and amemory; to obtain from each user of the community network, using theprocessor of a computing device, member data associated with each user,the member data including an address; to associate the address with aprofile of each user; to determine a location of each user based on themember data; to store the member data in a database; and to obtain apersonal address privacy preference from each user, the personal addressprivacy preference specifying if the address should be displayed toother users; a mapping server associated with the privacy server througha network to generate a geospatial representation of a set of points ona map defining residences associated with each use of the communitynetwork having the member data; and a verify module of the privacyserver: to authenticate a particular user of a third-party applicationas being a verified user of the neighborhood communication system havinga verified residential address in the neighborhood communication system;to communicate a social graph of the particular user based on thepersonal address privacy preference of the particular user to thethird-party application; to provide the verified residential address tothe third-party application based on the authentication of theparticular user of the third-party application as being the verifieduser of the neighborhood communication system, wherein the privacyserver communicatively coupled with the mapping server through a networkto apply an address verification algorithm associated with each user ofthe online community to verify that each user lives at a residenceassociated with a claimable residential address of an online communityformed through a social community module of the privacy server using theprocessor and the memory; wherein the mapping server to generate alatitudinal data and a longitudinal data associated with each claimableresidential address of the online community associated with each user ofthe online community, wherein the privacy server to automaticallydetermine a set of access privileges in the online community associatedwith each user of the online community by constraining access in theonline community based on a neighborhood boundary determined using aBezier curve algorithm of the privacy server, wherein the privacy serverto transform the claimable residential address into a claimed addressupon an occurrence of an event, wherein the privacy server toinstantiate the event when a particular user is associated with theclaimable residential address based on a verification of the particularuser as living at a particular residential address associated with theclaimable residential address using the privacy server, wherein theprivacy server to constrain the particular user to communicate throughthe online community only with a set of neighbors having verifiedaddresses using the privacy server, wherein the privacy server to definethe set of neighbors as other users of the online community that haveeach verified their addresses in the online community using the privacyserver and which have each claimed residential addresses that are in athreshold radial distance from the claimed address of the particularuser, wherein the privacy server to constrain the threshold radialdistance to be less than a distance of the neighborhood boundary usingthe Bezier curve algorithm, wherein the privacy server to permit theneighborhood boundary to take on a variety of shapes based on at leastone of an associated geographic connotation, a historical connotation, apolitical connotation, and a cultural connotation of neighborhoodboundaries, wherein the privacy server to apply a database ofconstraints associated with neighborhood boundaries that are imposed ona map view of the online community when permitting the neighborhoodboundary to take on the variety of shapes, wherein the mapping server togenerate a geospatial representation of a set of points on a mapdefining places and points of interest, and wherein a member managementmodule configured to obtain member data associated with each of theplurality of members, wherein the member data comprises one of aplurality of locations on the geo-spatial map.
 11. The system of claim10, wherein the member management module is further configured to:determine an activity level of each of the plurality of members in themember repository, wherein the representative body is created based onthe activity level of each of the first subset.
 12. The system of claim9, further comprising: a representative interface accessible by therepresentative body, comprising: a neighborhood management moduleconfigured to provide a neighborhood management option to therepresentative body; a neighborhood cleanup module configured to providea member profile regulation option to the representative body; arepresentative communication module configured to send and receivemessages between each of the second subset of the plurality of members;and a forum configured to display a comment from at least one of thefirst subset.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the governmentmanagement module is further configured to: obtain a plurality of votesfrom the first subset corresponding to an elected official of the one ofthe plurality of regions; determine one of the second subset with ahighest number of the plurality of votes; and select the one of thesecond subset as the elected official.
 14. The system of claim 13,wherein the elected official is at least one of a mayor, a governor, apresident, and a secretary-general.
 15. The system of claim 9, whereineach of the plurality of regions is at least one of a city, a county, astate, a country, a group of countries, a continent, and a planet. 16.The system of claim 9, wherein the first subset comprises a plurality ofelected officials from a plurality of divisions within the one of theplurality of regions.